Mary, Marry, Merry Go Round
by beegurl13
Summary: Bella's bored in cookie cutter Forks, with an Apple Pie obsessed father, Mary Kay lovin' mother, and Mary Jane addicted brother. Will she find the courage to escape & get a life? What happens when a tatted, pierced blast from her past sweeps her off her feet? Can Edward show her there's more than the Mary, Marry, Merry Go Round life she knows? B&E AH M - FAGE6 for Artemis Leaena
1. Chapter 1

**FAGE Six Pack**

**Title: Mary, Marry, Merry Go Round**

**Written for: **** Artemis Leaena**

**Written By: beegurl13 **

**Rating: M – for language and lemons**

**Summary/Prompt used: **_**Tatt/Piercedward (looks rough on the outside, but is sweet, intelligent, gentlemanly, & a hopeless romantic) & Bella meet in an unlikely place**_** – though a couple other prompts will be worked in as well. :)**

**If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the facebook group: ** **Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.**

**h**** t t p : /www dot fanfiction dot net/community/FAGE-6-pack/93625/**

*** O * O * O ***

**A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does. What I do own is a dozen red roses that my hubs gave me for our 20****th**** anniversary yesterday. They're pretty. :)**

**This story is supposed to be completely posted today. It's not gonna be. My life sucks and keeps me busier than I want it to and I'm old and sleepy. But it WILL be finished within the next couple of days. I know this will probably ban me from participating in the next FAGE, but really... I don't know if I'll even still be writing fanfic by that point. :( I know, sadness. :( Who knows what life will be like when that time comes. We'll see. :)**

**And I have NOT forgotten about **_**After Jane Died**_**. We'll have more of that next week. Until then, enjoy this little gift of mine, and then go read the story that **_**Artemis Leaena**_** is writing for me. Oh, it's so good. It's like she looked into my brain and picked out EXACTLY what I want to read! :D**

_**Building My Forever**_** – : /www dot fanfiction dot net/s/9771627/1/Building-My-Forever**

*** O * O * O ***

Forks, Washington.

Maybe that's what it says on a map but those of us who live here know what it should really be called. Mary Ville. Marry Land. Merry Town. The Place of Cookie-Cutter Houses That's Eternally Stuck in 1973. Gossip Central. The City of Pink Cadillac's and Even Pinker Lipstick. Home of the Finest Weed in the Northwestern United States. Borington, USA.

All of those names fit. Any of them were more appropriate than Forks. Most days I felt like I was the only one who saw it, who acknowledged it, who admitted it. But then I'd see Rose and I knew I had at least one person like me – one person who couldn't wait to get out, get free, get a life.

The bell above the door jingled and I let out a deep breath before plastering on a smile and turning to face the counter.

"Welcome to Hot as Hale's Ice Cream Shop. What can I dip you for today?" I rattled off. Mr. Hale thought he was so funny when he'd come up with that phrase 20 years ago. I wasn't even born yet, but I can imagine that wherever my little pre-mortal soul was, I probably cringed.

Oh yeah, I knew about all that pre-life and post-life stuff because Forks was also the church-going capital of Washington. The seven churches that were located throughout town tallied up their attendance roles each week. The Forks city council proudly boasted at their Monday night meetings that the town had a 99.7% attendance record, meaning on Sunday mornings nearly everyone could be found sitting in a pew, praying and singing along. Whether they believed it or not. It was expected, practically required. The only holdouts in town were Old Man Black and his mid-thirty-something-year-old son, Jake. Technically, they didn't live in the city limits, but the state forced Forks to include them in their count. It was a point of contention for church leaders because those two were the only things messing up the town's perfect record.

"Hey, pretty girl. How's my sweetheart today?" Mike said as he walked into the small dining room of the ice cream shop. I kept the fake smile plastered to my face, hoping if I played nice he'd leave sooner.

"Fine. How are you?" I asked, because that's what a good girl would do.

Mike wasn't a bad guy. He was nice enough, and certainly cute enough. He was smart and funny and had a good future lined up for him. What he didn't have was that certain spark I'd been looking for my whole life. He wasn't exciting or adventurous. He was happy in Forks and never wanted to leave.

"Good. Sunday dinner was nice the other night," he said as he continued to smile at me. After all the time we'd spent together it still bugged me a bit that he couldn't tell my fake smile from my real smile. Then again, he couldn't tell my fake orgasm from my real one, either. I guess that was just asking too much.

"Yeah. My mom said to tell you thanks for coming over and she's sorry about the pot roast. She thinks her crock-pot must be acting up again." It wasn't. My mom just couldn't cook for shit. She was usually too worried about getting her next Mary Kay order right and accounting for all of her monthly points.

"No problem. In a couple of years you can take over the cooking when we have them over to our place every Sunday, right?" he asked. "I'll watch the kids while you cook dinner."

Oh, yeah. Crap.

"Maybe," I hedged, then grabbed for a hand-towel and a scooper. "So you want some ice cream, or what?"

"Yeah. Um, just my usual." One regular sized scoop of vanilla on a wafer cone. Boring. "So what time are you done? Can I see you tonight?"

"Um... well I work until six and then I'm supposed to help my mom with something. Maybe after that."

Mike and I were technically high school sweethearts. We'd been "together" since sophomore year. Everyone expected us to date, get engaged, get married, start popping out babies, and live in Forks for the rest of our lives. We'd have a cute little box house, I'd drive a beige mini-van, he'd run his dad's store, our kids would get perfect grades. That was the dream, the expectation. It was everything I didn't want. The only reason I'd stuck with him as long as I had – for just over four years – was that he was better than nothing, and easier than explaining I was just biding my time until I could escape.

I figured while I was stuck in Forks I may as well have some fun. Though I wasn't having much fun. Or sex. We hadn't had sex. That wasn't what good kids did. Not that we were exactly good. We'd done everything except for shoving his dick into my pussy. Well, that's not how he said it. He hadn't "inserted his penis in my vagina." That would be for the wedding night, but until then he could put it anyplace else and it was fine. Like I said, Mike wasn't a bad guy, he just wasn't what I wanted for the rest of my life. And in the mean time he was a good choice to pass the time with. Although every time we got together and things were getting hot and heavy, just before I'd finally lose it, my mind would wander back to the one boy I'd slept with, had sex with, made love to... whatever you called it. It was one time with a cute boy who was just passing through town for a few days. I was a little bit high and maybe a tad bit drunk, but that only served to make me brave. And it was worth it.

"Okay, I'll stop by around eight. Sound good?" he asked, licking his cone and keeping his eyes trained on mine. He was good with his tongue, I had to give him that. His dick might not have been in my pussy, but that tongue sure had. Stupid boring boy.

"Yeah. See ya then."

After he was gone I let out a sigh, closing my eyes as I shook my head. I needed to get out of this town.

"Awww, did Loverboy leave?" Rose teased as she walked through the swinging doors that led to the back room of the building.

"Yep. Gone, with his vanilla cone in hand."

"Bet that's not the only thing he's had his hand wrapped around today. Bella, honey, when are you gonna ditch that guy?" she asked. Rose had been my best friend since Kindergarten, and she seemed to be the only person who understood how I felt about Mike and life in general.

"As soon as I have a plan to get out of this town. Until then, it's better him than my hand, you know?"

"Oh, your mom's still snoopin', huh? That sucks."

My mother's favorite past-time was snooping through my drawers. Since I still lived at home and she still did all my laundry, I couldn't really stop her. Not that I had anything to hide. And as long as I lived under her and my father's roof, there would be no sex toys in my drawers for her to stumble upon.

"ROSEMARY!" we heard shouted from the back room.

"Oh, shit," Rose huffed. "MOTHER! My name is Rose! Call me Rose! For the last time, I'm NOT an herb!" she yelled back. After rolling her eyes in annoyance she pushed her way through the doors and left me alone to face the morning ice cream crowd. Basically, since the shop was empty, she left me alone.

Sometime in the middle of the afternoon, after serving ice cream to five of the seven Mary Katherine's in town, two of the nine Mary Louise's, and all three of the Mary Elizabeth's, the bell on the door jingled again. There were several girls from around town who made it a point to stop in as often as they could to flash their diamond rings in my face, just as a reminder that they'd gotten engaged before I did. Like I cared. MaryJes and Mary Lauren were the worse offenders. They were both a year younger than me and had just graduated from high school. Their fiances, Tyler and Eric, were a few years older than me so I knew them. I knew everyone. It was a small town, it couldn't be helped. The loud footsteps on the tile and the deep laughs soon clued me in that the newest customers weren't female or intent on blinding me with jewelry.

"Hey, little lady," one of the men said. They were younger looking, not much older than me, and definitely not from Forks. "How are ya this fine afternoon?"

"Welcome to Hot as Hale's Ice Cream Shop. What can I dip you for today?" I asked them. Both smiled brightly back at me.

"That's a catchy little saying. You say that to all the dips that come in this place?" the bigger of the two guys asked.

"Yeah," I said with a nod. "I have to. It's part of the job."

"Nice," the shorter guy said. "I'm Jamie. This is my friend Emmett. We were wondering if we could leave some fliers here for the carnival. See if maybe you'd pass them out to your customers."

"Carnies, huh? Yeah, you don't need fliers," I assured them. "Everyone within a 50 mile radius knew you were here about ten minutes before your trucks parked out at the rodeo grounds. But you can leave them here if you want." I knew I probably sounded bored, lifeless to these two, but really they were the highlight of my day so far. That's how pitiful and mundane my life was.

Emmett smiled a big toothy grin at me. "I like you. What's your name?"

"Bella."

"Ah, Bella. Not Mary Bella or Bella Mary? Somethin' catchy like that?" he asked.

"No, I'm not that awesome," I deadpanned back to him. "Why do you ask?" Clearly he'd been in Forks before. How else would he have known about the whole Mary thing? And as I looked at him closer I noticed that he seemed a little familiar.

"Nothin'. Just I noticed a lot of Mary's around here."

"Yeah," Jamie said. "What's up with that? It's kinda weird. And why are all the houses the same? It looks like someone took a fuckin' cookie cutter and made everything identical. Kinda Stepford Wives like, if you ask me."

"If you're afraid of Stepford Wives I'd suggest you stay away from the grocery store," I told him with a smirk. "Ladies shopping for food in their heels and pearls. It's not normal."

Like I said before, Forks was eternally stuck in 1973, although sometimes it felt more like it could be a flashback to 1963.

"Cool," Emmett said. "So, you plannin' on coming out to the carnival this weekend?"

"Maybe. It's not like there's much else to do here."

"Yeah, I noticed. You married? Got a boyfriend? It seems like all the girls around are taken."

Emmett watched me closely for a few seconds, then looked over my shoulder and instantly his smile was gone. That's when I heard the swinging doors push open.

"Bella, did you clean the milkshake machi-?" Rose said before skidding to a stop. "Oh, customers. Hi."

"Hello," Emmett practically whispered, causing Jaime to laugh.

"Good night, nurse! Where've you been hidin' all my life?" Jamie asked as he held his hand out over the ice cream display case, hoping Rose would shake it.

"Uh uh, no." Emmett growled, nearly pushing Jamie out of the way. "Mine."

Rose snickered a little laugh and then pulled a piece of her long blonde hair between her fingers. "So who are you?"

"Carnies," I told her. I hadn't seen her look so intensely at any guy before, but the way she was looking at Emmett had me convinced that I'd just witnessed a full fledged instance of love at first sight. I was certain it would make the front page of the Forks Gazette when she ran off with the carnival as they pulled out of town in a few days.

"I'm Emmett," he said.

"Rosemary," she replied.

"Like that movie, Rosemary's Baby?" Jaime asked with a laugh. "Dude, that was some messed up shit, right there."

I smiled at his joke. He was funny and a little off, but he seemed harmless enough.

"You workin' the carnival this year?" Rose asked Emmett as he held her hand over the glass case. He was shaking it, but it wasn't a normal handshake. It was slow and soft and lingering, like he never intended to let go. Rose seemed fine with that.

"Yeah. Me and Jaime here are workin'. You gonna come out? I could get us some extra long rides on the ferris wheel. My buddy Alec runs it. He owes me a favor or two."

Rose smiled at him. Her ruby red lips parted as the corners of her mouth pulled up into a smile and showed off her snow-white teeth.

"I think that could be arranged. You gonna be up and running tonight?" she asked.

"No, tomorrow. Be there at 8pm, and find me. I'm manning The Zipper. You can't miss it. Just look for all the lights and the long lines."

Rose's face lit up even more than it already was. "Oh, I love that ride! I'll be there, don't worry."

It was like a storybook had decided to throw up all over my life because after saying goodbye to her, Emmett slowly bent over and gently kissed the back of Rose's hand, then wished her a nice afternoon before hesitantly walking out of the shop.

"Oh my goodness," she whimpered, her hands clasped together over her chest. "He's like a dream."

"Yeah," I mumbled. "My worst nightmare."

I was losing Rose. My one source of support. My one piece of encouragement. My one bit of reality. My one chance of actually making it out of Forks and having a life someday.

I was screwed. And ticked. And then MaryJes walked in the door, sweetly yelling in her most annoying voice "Hey, Bella!" as she paraded herself and her enormous sparkler right over to me.

Sometimes I really hated Forks.

*** O * O * O ***

**A/N: More soon... :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does. What I do own is a pair of flip flops that I got for half price at Target. They're awesome flip flops, too. I know 'cause I bought almost the exact same pair two years ago and they've lasted two years. I wear them every day. My toes would get cold if I ever moved someplace where there was snow. I need flip flops... :)**

**You all make me giggle. So many alerts after just one day and one chapter. You're too good to me. :)**

**Again, for **_**Artemis Leaena**_**. I hope you're liking this, even though I'm a slacker and late. I'm always late. You can ask anyone. :)**

*** O * O * O ***

It was just after six when I got off work. I'd asked to stay later, practically begging Rose's dad, but he kept talking about frostbite and workman's comp, and that he couldn't afford to lose me if I had to get any fingers amputated because I'd scooped too many ice cream cones. I think he just wanted me gone before the Forks Women's Book Club let out of their afternoon meeting. Every Mary Jane, Mary Francis, Mary Louise, and Mary Jo in town would be parading by the front windows of the ice cream shop, and I knew all too well how worked up that got Mr. Hale. All those short skirts, tight tops, and hair-do's high enough to meet Jesus would no doubt mean Rose would be crashing at my house tonight.

My old red truck was noisy and could be heard from blocks away. I didn't care – at least I had something to drive and I didn't have to walk all over town. My dad had promised me a newer car if I enrolled in the community college in Port Angeles, but my mom didn't see the need. Why would I want to take college classes if I was just going to get married, have a bunch of babies, and clean my house for the rest of my life?

My mom wasn't all bad. She was a little off her rocker, but honestly, living in Forks did that to people. Not to mention the chemicals and fragrances that had most likely soaked into her skin from all of her Mary Kay products. I said she was obsessed. She called it enthusiastic appreciation. Whatever, same thing.

I pulled my truck in the dirt next to the driveway and shut it off, making sure to roll up the windows so it would stay dry inside. There weren't many clouds out, but that could change in a matter of minutes. My mother's Smokey Platinum Chevy Malibu sat inside the open garage. I knew the exact color and model of the car because I'd heard her talk about it every day for almost two years straight. She was finally high enough in sales that she qualified for her first Mary Kay car, and she didn't intend to stop there. She had plans, goals, dreams. They included at least one Pink Cadillac before she died.

"Mary Bella!" I heard my mom yell from the side of the house. I cringed. My name was not Mary Bella, but for some reason my mother could never seem to remember that. Her forgetfulness got especially bad when new shipments of Mary Kay products came in.

"Yeah?" I replied, pausing before hurrying toward the house.

"Honey, come here and help me. I've got all these boxes to sort through. I need to get them inside before the rain starts."

Glancing back up at the sky I counted about a dozen small, airy, cottony clouds. Nothing close to rain. Yeah, she was crazy.

"Mary Bella, what did you do to your hair?" she nearly screeched when she saw me.

"Nothing."

"Is that red in it?" she asked.

"No, Mom, it's pink. Remember? I ordered that new pink hair dye. It finally came in yesterday."

"Why didn't I see it? Was there anything else? Baby, you know I'll lose credits if I start missing items on orders," she chastised me. "I can't afford to lose points, especially not if I'm going to qualify for the Silver Toyota Camry next year."

She didn't give one shit about the fact that I'd lightened my hair to nearly blonde a month earlier. She'd even shown me the pink hair dye when it first showed up in her catalog a few weeks earlier. All she cared about was earning points and leveling up in car status. The Camry was next on the list, then the Equinox, and finally the Pearlized Pink Cadillac. That was better than an Olympic Gold Medal in Forks society. It was even better than having your own reality show. And it was for sure better than knowing who's husband recently divorced Tanya two blocks over was sleeping with this week.

"Well, whatever. Help me carry these in," she said. I knew what was coming next. "It's the least you could do after I was in labor with you for three days. I had to push for five hours, Mary Bella." I mimicked her as I followed her toward the kitchen door. I heard this exact rant every time she needed my help with anything. "If you would have just come sooner I could have signed you birth certificate myself. But no... stubborn just like your father." She continued to ramble about my birth and my personality traits that she found less than appealing. I knew she was just in the Mary Kay Haze she always experienced when new shipments came in, so I tuned her out.

The fact of the matter was she wanted to name me Mary Bella. My father wanted Isabella Marie, after my two grandmothers. I took forever being born, she got tired and fell asleep, my dad filled out the birth certificate application and submitted it. Two months later my official birth certificate came in the mail. Isabella Marie Swan. If she hadn't needed him to chase my one-year-old brother Jasper around the house and keep him from streaking naked through the neighborhood, she probably would have kicked my father out. My dad argued that Marie was close to Mary, but it was no help. My mother felt like a failure – a daughter born in Forks without the name Mary. It was scandalous. It was ridiculous.

Just then her phone rang, playing some annoying folksy song from the late 60's. Probably something she would have heard at Woodstock, if she'd been old enough to go to Woodstock. Or if she okay with mud and camping.

"Mary Ann Swan, Mary Kay consultant. How can I help you?" she happily chirped into the pink crystal bedazzled phone.

Her name wasn't Mary Ann. It was Renee Angela. At least she half way had the Ann part right. I tuned her out again when she started to squeal about the latest blush and eye-shadow lines. Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone slowly rush past the kitchen window. It could only be one person.

Stepping out the back door, I leaned against the wall and shook my head at the sight before me.

"Really?" I said after a few minutes. "She's gonna know."

My father... Charlie Swan, Forks Sheriff, stood against the wall a few feet from me, greedily scarfing down the apple turnovers in his hands. His guilty eyes flicked up to meet mine as he paused, mid-chew.

"Hey, Bells," he mumbled around his mouth full of apple filling and pastry.

"I see you stopped off at Mary Sue's again, huh?"

My father was in love with another woman. Well, he was in love with her baking, anyway. Mary Sue Clearwater. She was happily married to my father's best friend, Harry, but since his doctor made him swear off sweets, my father had become addicted. And that's exactly what he was – an addict looking for his fix.

"I wasn't going to. I swear. I was gonna come straight home and wait for your mother to cook dinner. But then my window was rolled down as I drove past her house, and the scent just filled the squad car. I couldn't stop myself," he said, hanging his head in shame. "I'm weak, Bella. I can't help it. Don't tell your mother, please."

I sighed, noticing the buttons on his shirt. They were barely holding together. They were straining under the pressure his too big belly was putting on them. His pants were going to have to be let out again, too. I wasn't sure police uniforms came in a larger size than what my dad already had. It's not every day that you encounter a three-hundred-pound police office.

"Don't worry. She got a shipment in. She'll probably be consumed for a day or two."

He smiled, then shoved more turnover into his waiting mouth.

"Mary Bella!" my mother called from inside the house.

"Wipe the crumbs off outside, BEFORE you come in the house!" I told my dad, then turned and walked back into the house.

"Yeah?"

"Oh honey, come see what I got!"

My mother sat at the dining table with about 40 tubes of lipstick before her. "Look at this one. Ugh, have you ever seen anything so beautiful? And this one... Oh, it's exquisite. And this one? Kill me now, it's so gorgeous."

Every tube held pink lipstick. All the same shades of pink.

"Mom, they all look the same to me. They're just pink," I told her.

Her annoyed huff ensured me that I only had to endure her for a few more minutes. "Sweetheart, this tube is clearly Petal Pink. Now you look at Passion Pink, and then at Prayerful Pink and tell me you can't see the difference."

I looked. They looked the same. No difference, at all.

"Sorry, Mom. They all look like pink. That's it."

"How are you ever going to take over my empire someday if you can't even tell the difference between lipstick shades? Now I'm going to have to force Mike to give me his mom's spot at the store after you two are married."

My mother, "Mary Ann" Swan and Mary Ellen Newton has been friendly rivals for years when it came to Mary Kay. That all changed when Mary Ellen's husband built her a small Mary Kay kiosk inside his store. Now she had customers coming to her, plus she still did catalog sales. My mother wanted that kiosk and she knew if I was married to Mike, the two of us could talk him into kicking his mom to the curb. It sounded like a bad idea to me, but after insisting that's how mother-in-law relationships worked, I backed off. It wasn't like I was going to actually MARRY Mike, anyway.

Ugh, boring.

After convincing my mom I was a lot cause, I hurried toward my bedroom, anxious to get into some sweats and make some goodies before Rose showed up. And I knew she would. She always did. The groans and giggles that flowed through the wall and into my bedroom made me cringe. Apparently my brother Jasper and his girlfriend, Mary Jane Brandon, were home. And happy, by the sounds of it.

Her name wasn't really Mary Jane. It was Mary Alice, but her daddy was the biggest pot producer in the state, so we all called her Mary Jane. She loved it which was good, because it fit her. Plus when she smoked it, she got really mellow. Her hyper little self was almost normal when she got to flying pretty high. An easy-going spit-fire. That's what Mary Jane was.

Knowing I couldn't listen to Jasper yelling for her to "ride him like Stonewall Jackson rode against the Yankees," then her yelling at the top of her lungs "The South has risen again!" I grabbed my clothes and made a mad dash for the downstairs bathroom. I wasn't staying in the house to listen to that. I needed to get laid. And soon. But I wasn't gonna marry Mike just for that.

Pulling out my phone, I called the one number I knew could help me.

"Hello?" I heard Rose yell.

"Hey, it's me."

"Oh shit, Bella. I went by the store on my way home tonight, and my parents were there... My Eyes, Bella! I won't ever get that picture out of my head. I'm coming over right now! Don't they know what they've done to me?"

I laughed. "Hurry up. Mike's supposed to show up at eight, but it you're here then I'll make up something good to tell him so he can't stay long."

"Why make up somethin'? Just tell him we met two hot guys at the carnival and we're going to see them. Let Mike deal with that."

The carnival. I'd almost forgotten. Then I thought about the cute guys from the ice cream shop. If they were half as cute in the glow of carnival lights as they were in the shop that morning, I was screwed. But maybe if I got lucky enough I could get actually screwed. It had happened before, though it had been four years. Letting out a sigh I thought about Tony for a second or two. How sweet and funny and cute he'd been. How he'd fumbled around in the dark and made a complete fool of himself when he admitted he didn't know what he was doing. How that fact made me like him even more. How he mumbled about poems and country music. How I cried the next day when I realized he was gone. How after that I gave in to the fact that I was never getting out of Forks and Mike was probably the best I'd ever do.

I told Rose to hurry, that I'd make popcorn and we could go down to the rodeo grounds and watch all the hot, sweaty muscly men set up the rides and games.

That sounded like a lot more fun than most Thursday nights in Forks, Washington.

*** O * O * O * **

**A/N: More soon...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does. What I do own is a box of cream puffs. I really wanted the Ben and Jerry's Late Night Snack ice cream, the one with Jimmy Fallon's face on it and the chocolate covered potato chips in it, but then I thought no... I don't need that. And I really should share with my children. But oh, Jimmy's so cute... :)**

**Finally, someone caught on to that whole "I might not even be writing fanfic anymore by the time the next FAGE comes around" thing in Chapter One's a/n. :D I wondered if anyone would mention that. :D**

**Again, for **_**Artemis Leaena**_**. The story you wrote me... so good. I hope everyone that's reading this has read that. It's like she sucked ideas and wants straight out of my brain. :D**

*** O * O * O ***

Rose and I sat in the living room watching a movie. _Something About Mary_. Seriously. Even the cable company out of Port Angeles that supplied Forks with television was in on the joke. They showed _The Mary Tyler Moore Show_ at ten o'clock every night. They'd aired _I Love Lucy_ reruns for a while, but then Mary showed up and that was it. My mother watched it every night, laughing and reminding my father about the good old days. Ugh, she was weird sometimes.

"You wanna head down to the rodeo grounds? I saw the lights on when I was driving over," Rose said as she grabbed another handful of popcorn.

"I should probably wait until Mike gets here. If we're gone when he shows up, my mother's likely to invite him to stay the night and then start schooling him on the acceptable and preferred diamond shapes for engagement rings."

Rose made a gagging sound. "Are you shitting me? She really thinks you're gonna marry him? Why would she want that for you?"

"I guess she figures that whole homemaker life is good enough for her, so why wouldn't it be good enough for me, you know? Not that there's anything wrong with it. I just don't wanna sell Mary Kay for the rest of my life." I turned to her with pleading eyes and grabbed onto her wrist. "And promise me now, if I ever start talking about wanting a pink Cadillac you'll shoot me. A bullet right between the eyes. Got it?"

"Yeah, whatever," she laughed. "That might be a little messy, though. Maybe just some rat poison in your vodka. I'm sure you'll be a raging lush by that point."

She was right. I'd have to be a full-blown boozer to be able to endure that lifestyle.

Soon there was a knock on the door and I heard my father's heavy footsteps as he tried to hurry down the hall. Poor guy... He certainly didn't have the body of a high school quarterback anymore, though he couldn't quite make himself understand that. Too many apple pies, apple tarts, apple crumb cakes, and caramel apples were really getting to him. He told himself if it had fruit in it, it wasn't fattening. Obviously he was delusional.

After several seconds Mike made his way around the entryway corner and into the living room.

"Hey!" he said, then let his smile fade away when he saw Rose.

"Hey to you, too, bucko," she grumbled, then turned back to the TV.

Mike hesitantly sat down next to me. "What's she doing here? I thought we were going out."

"Oh, well it's her time of the month and she's really hormonal, so I was afraid to tell her to leave," I told him with the straightest face I could muster. Just as I thought, he shirked back from me ever so slightly. Guys didn't like to hear about periods. They just didn't. Plus they knew that if their girl was on hers, there'd be no sex for a week. The thought of no sex horrified most guys, even the ones who weren't having any. Mike was no exception.

"Bella!" Mary Jane yelled as she came barreling down the stairs. "I thought we heard your bedroom door close earlier. I wanted to come say hi but Jasper had just got my shirt off and his mouth felt so good on my nipples. He does this tongue thing where he-"

"Bleh, bleh, bleh!" I yelled as I crammed my fingers into my ears. "I don't wanna hear it. Why do you think I came down here?"

"Oh, sorry," she giggled. Clearly, she was high as a kite. When a very relaxed Jasper made his way down the stairs a few minutes later, still buttoning up his shirt, I knew I was correct.

"Bella, baby, let's go. That carnival isn't going to set up itself," Rose said with a huff when the movie ended. "Besides, they're playing _Mary Poppins_ next, and then it's _So I Married An Axe Murderer_. I've seen both of those like ten times so far this month. Why couldn't _The Brady Bunch_ have had a frickin' kid named Mary? _Gilligan's Island_ had Mary Ann, but how was anyone supposed to notice her when Ginger was parading around in evening gowns all the time?"

I turned to Mike. "I need to go. When she starts rambling like this, it doesn't stop. Ever. Hormones and all. You understand."

He nodded rapidly, then stood from the couch. "Um, I guess I'll see ya later then," he mumbled before making his way to the front door and letting himself out.

"Ugh, gone. Finally," Rose said as she let out a dramatic breath. "Let's go!"

"Where are you going?" Mary Jane asked.

"Uh, we're going to the rodeo grounds. The carnival's in town and they're setting up tonight. We're gonna go watch."

Mary Jane started to bounce up and down as she clapped her hands. "Ohhhh, can I come? I love carnivals!"

"Alice? Hello, are you in there? Can I talk to Alice now?" I said, squishing her face between my hands.

"Silly, it's me!" she said with a giggle.

"The carnival doesn't start until tomorrow. They're just putting together the rides tonight. We're going to watch the hot guys sweating and straining and over-exerting themselves. You sure you can sit still long enough to watch with us?"

"Yes, yes, YES!" she shrieked. She quickly kissed my brother who was lounging back in the recliner, his eyes glued to the TV, then ran to wait by the kitchen doorway.

"Mary Jane, you packin'?" Rose asked as she moved across the living room, eyeing me in a way that said "Get your ass up off that couch and let's go find that hot hunk of man who came in and made me swoon today!"

"Aren't I always? Grade A, Washington's finest. Daddy doesn't mind if I scrape a little off the top sometimes," Alice replied.

Nice. Mary Jane had some mary jane and we were going to watch sexy men. As we loaded into Rose's car I had a sudden realization – this just might end up being the best night of my whole, entire life. Well, other than that one night. The night with Tony. That was the best, and probably always would be. Especially if I never got out of Forks.

The rodeo grounds were easy to spot from any place in or around Forks. Other than the high school football field, they had the highest light fixtures in town, and when the lights were on you could see them from miles away. It probably helped that the rodeo grounds were located on the top of a hill and surrounded by forever green pine trees. When the lights came on it almost looked like the little mountain was wearing a bright, shining crown. It was beckoning us to come closer. It was calling to us to hurry up. It was almost teasing us with the idea that maybe it could be a space ship here to pick up willing human women who wanted to leave Earth and let naughty space men have their wicked, dirty way with them.

Hey, I'd seen the Enquirer Magazine. I knew women gave birth to alien babies all the time. Sadly in Australia they had to guard those babies from dingos, but whatever. In Washington all we had to worry about were vampires, or werewolves, or something. Yeah right, like they're waste their time in Dull Ville, USA. Even vampires would want more excitement than Forks offered. The ghost of Elvis, though... He might enjoy Forks. The diner downtown did make a pretty great fried peanut butter and banana sandwich. Just ask my dad. He knew all about it, though he always sweet talked Cora into adding some apple slices to his. That way it was fat free.

We parked a little ways down the hill and walked up to the bleachers that sat next to the arena. We weren't really supposed to be there, but come on. Seriously, nothing else to do in town. What did they expect? Several carnival rides sat in the open area that stretched out before us. Some looked to be put together already. Others looked like they still needed a lot of work. Men scrambled around from ride to ride with their tool boxes. We could hear them yelling to one another, and their language was by far the most colorful I'd ever heard in my ancient young life.

We sat half way up on the metal benches, looking down at the men. Some were wearing uniforms. Others, you could tell, had gotten warm and had pulled off their shirts. A few wore tank tops and a few other's wore sleeveless shirts. Nearly a dozen were completely bare chested, and Rose and Mary Jane were mesmerized. Not me. I liked long sleeves on a man. Tight, longer sleeves. I would happily admit that the tight was so I could see their bulging muscles, but ugh... yeah. The guys in front of us were okay to look at. There didn't seem to be anyone that swept me off my feet, but Rose soon spotted Emmett and the three of us girls decided to focus on him and his friend, Jamie.

"Doesn't there seem to be something familiar about Emmett, Rose?" I asked. I still couldn't shake the feeling that I knew him.

"I don't know," she said as she watched him and sucked on a lollypop. The way she was twisting her tongue around it was almost indecent. The way Emmett was watching her was probably why he kept whacking his thumb with a hammer. Ugh, stupid men. So easily enticed.

"I'm serious. Haven't we met him before?"

"Bella," she said as she let out a huff, "don't you think he would have said something today if we knew him? I mean, he's a carnie. He's not from around here. How would we know him?"

I thought about what she said. She was right. How would we know him? We'd never knowingly hit on carnie's before. Gawked at them? Sure. Yelled sexy things at them across parking lots? Of course. Flashed a few of them from the top of the ferris wheel? Um, yeah, what girls didn't do that? I decided to just let it go. Emmett didn't act like he knew us, so he probably didn't. Maybe it was the Mary Kay hair dye sinking into my brain and making things all fuzzy.

As the men started to wrap things up, Mary Jane pulled out a J and lit it up. "Oh, oh, gimme!" Rose whispered excitedly as Mary Jane sucked on the end of the little white roll.

"Hang on, let me get it started."

After we'd all had a few hits from it, Mary Jane put it out and stuck the leftover half into her shirt pocket. "Yeah, that's good stuff," she sighed as she leaned back onto the bleacher behind her. "Nobody grows boom like my daddy."

"Fuck, yeah," Rose said. "Mary Jane, if that mama of yours ever runs off, just send that daddy of yours to my place. He's hot."

Mary Jane and I laughed. Her dad really was good looking, for an old guy. But her mom was freaky and kinky and gorgeous. It was no wonder Alice turned out the way she did.

"I'm gonna hit the head before we go," I told the girls, then slowly made my way toward the port-a-potties that were lined up behind the bleachers. The last thing I needed was to fall down the bleachers in my current pot-haze and have to explain myself to my town sheriff father. It was dark once I got down there, and I knew it probably wasn't the safest thing for me to be going alone, but it was Forks. Nothing bad ever happened in Forks. If it had, maybe my dad would have worked off some of those apple desserts and I wouldn't be thinking about having to order him new uniforms. Again.

Once I was done – and trust me, I hovered because damn, spiders in port-a-potties are no joke and no one wants to be hauled into the emergency room with a spider bite on their ass – I headed back to my girls. The only thing was, they weren't there. I sat down on the bottom bleacher and waited, hoping they'd be back soon. Most of the carnies were gone, but a few of them were still standing around in groups. Soon enough I heard Rose's laugh, followed by Mary Jane's giggling and then the deep throaty laugh that I remembered hearing from Emmett earlier that day. Pulling out my cell phone, I decided to check my email while I waited.

"Pretty girls shouldn't be sitting alone in scary places," a voice said from behind me. I jumped a bit as I turned around to see who it was. Most of the overhead lights around the arena had been turned off, so it was quite a bit darker than it had been before, but I could see the shape of a guy leaning back across the bleachers a few rows above me.

"Why do you care?" I asked. He let out a short laugh.

"You got a death wish or somethin'? You really shouldn't be walkin' around under dark bleachers all alone at night."

"Yeah, well, it's Forks. Nothing ever happens here."

He was quiet for a minute. "You mean nothin' bad ever happens here?"

"No. I mean nothing ever happens here. Period. And I don't think anyone would really give a shit where I walk around."

"Some might."

"Maybe my boring, loser boyfriend. But that's probably only because I'd be messing up his plans of popping out babies in the next few years."

The man was silent for several seconds, then from the corner of my eye I watched as he lit up a smoke. "So you got a boyfriend, huh?" he asked. There was something in his voice. A tone I hadn't ever heard before. It seemed nervous, or jealous, or disappointed. I wasn't sure.

"Technically, yes. But only because I don't have a better option. No one else is asking."

"What if you had a better option?" he asked as he leaned forward and placed his forearms on his knees. The cigarette glowed between his fingers and I tried to make myself focus on my cell phone as I scrolled through my email inbox.

"I don't know," I told him. "Honestly, I had one once. But that was a long time ago."

After a few minutes of nothing, he stood from the bleachers and walked down them, moving past me and stepping off onto the ground. "You enjoy the carnival, Little Beauty."

My heartbeat quickened in the instant he said that. _Little Beauty_. I hadn't heard that name in a long, long time. Only one person had ever called me that before. But he was gone, he never came back, he didn't want me like I wanted him. My mind had blocked out so many things about him that I couldn't recall much, but there were things... a few things I clung to. Poetry. Sweetness. Embarrassment. Copper colored hair. Little Beauty.

Tony.

*** O * O * O ***

**A/N: More soon...**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does. What I do own is the regret of not being braver as a teenager. So many things I wish I could have done differently. :)**

**Again, for **_**Artemis Leaena**_**. And this chapter is where another of your prompts comes into play. :) Hope you like it. :)**

*** O * O * O ***

By the time I came to my senses, he was gone. Melted into the darkness and just gone. I quickly found Rose and Mary Jane and pulled them away from Emmett and Jamie, insisting I needed to get home soon. We promised the boys we'd be back the next day, and then I dragged my girls to the car.

"Rose, I think Tony is here," I said as we started down the road that led back to Forks.

"What? Really?" she asked. I nodded, my hands shaking as I tried to calm myself down. "Wait, Tony... Who's Tony, again?"

"Rose. Focus. The guy... from four years ago. You remember that night? We were out smokin' with Jasper and his friends and those guys from out of town showed up?" I could tell she was trying to piece it together in her mind, but we were all still a little hazy from the weed we'd smoked earlier.

"I remember," Mary Jane said. "I was there with Mary Ellen and Sara Marie."

Sara Marie Swan. One of the other town jokes, the only other Marie, and my cousin. We had the same great-grandma, had both been named after her. Her dad – my uncle – was the town dentist. She had great teeth. She lived on the other side of Forks now, with her husband and three kids. Well, three kids so far. She was only two years older than I was, and the thought that I could be living her life soon was chilling. Freaky. It scared the shit out of me.

"Oh yeah, I do remember that. Hey, who was that guy I made out with? He was cute. And big," Rose said.

"Mac. I remember him. He really was big, and loud. And those dimples he had... I liked him," Mary Jane said from the backseat.

"Oh come on. Tony! I think I saw Tony at the rodeo grounds. But it couldn't have been him. This guy, he was different. Mary Jane, are you sure your daddy didn't lace that reefer with somethin'?"

She hummed to herself for a few moments. "Well, he could have. He's been experimenting with different blends. But he usually tries them out on Jasper." She bolted up in her seat, grabbing on to the back of mine. "Don't tell your dad! He doesn't know Jasper smokes!"

I laughed at how serious she was. "Oh Mary Jane, everyone knows Jasper smokes. I think he and my dad have a deal. Jasper keeps my dad's dessert addiction a secret from my mom, and my dad doesn't arrest Jasper for being high all the time."

"Oh good," she said as she smiled and laid back down on the seat. "I'd miss mounting my little soldier boy if your daddy threw him in the slammer."

Driving back toward my house I thought I saw Mike's car parked on a street about a block from mine. I worried that maybe he'd gone back to my house after leaving, but when we got home he wasn't there. The pot we'd smoked was definitely freaking me out and I needed to sleep. Soon.

The next morning we were up bright and early. My mother was in the hall bathroom showing Rose all the new colors in Mary Kay's Fabulous Fall make-up line. Mary Jane, who'd clearly spent the night in Jasper's room based on the serious case of bedhead she was sporting, was in with them ranting and raving about the Perfect Plum blush and the Perky Pumpkin eye shadow. Quietly I hurried past them, getting into the kitchen just in time to see my father sneaking out the back door, wearing a pair of sweat pants and a white t-shirt from the 80's that said "Can't Touch This" in huge bold letters. I was pretty certain no one wanted to "touch this" but I had to laugh. He was so embarrassing sometimes, but he was my dad and I loved him.

I watched him creep his way across our yard, then through the two neighbor yards until he reached his destination. Seriously, a 300 pound man could not hide behind a tree, much less a big wheel, but he sure did try. Mary Sue was standing in her backyard wearing a short little apron, and not much else, from what I could tell. Any other person would think my father was attracted to her long, bare legs, or her big rack that was hardly able to be contained by the tube top she was wearing. But I knew my father better than that. All his eyes saw were the apple fritters that I could smell all the way across the two yards between us. No wonder my father was such a junkie. And she was totally feeding his addiction.

Walking back into the house I left my father alone to indulge himself in his doughy, fried, apple heaven. I thought more about Tony, about the night I'd met him, got to know him, fell head over heels for him.

Rose and I were hanging out, doing nothing. We were 15 and bored. We'd always been bored in Forks. Jasper showed up at the ice cream shop, asking if we wanted to party with him and his friends. Of course we said yes. He may have been my brother, but he was kinda cool, and older. It was only a year, but he had older friends and older friends were the key to fun when you lived in a small town.

We lay on the high school football field in the dark, smoking up and drinking and laughing for hours. The carnival had been in Forks, but had closed down the day before. Everything was disassembled and ready to move on to the next town. It was kind of a sad day for us, but it happened every year. They always came. They always left. That's just how it worked. As we lay there on the grass, giggling and talking, Jasper's friend Peter showed up with a couple of new guys. Guys we didn't know. Cute guys.

It was dark, so I couldn't see them too well, but there was enough light for me to see decently. The new guys, Tony and Mac, smoked and drank and laughed with us. They fit right in. Pretty soon Mac was chatting up Rose, and his friend was sitting next to me. He had a smile that pretty much melted my panties right there. And this hair that seemed to be a copper color, though it could have just been the dim lights that lined the street next to the field. I wanted to kiss him, or for him to kiss me. But he was shy, kinda quiet. And the way he spoke was like no one I'd ever heard before.

"I was reading this poem the other day," he said as he ran his fingers through the grass next to him.

"You read poems?" I asked. I didn't know any guys who read poems. Well, other than Marcus, and he only read fluffy love poems. Or dark, twisted death poems. He was weird. I stayed away from that guy.

"Yeah. Um, it's by John Keats. You heard of him? Anyway, it had this part I was just thinking about. It said 'I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for their religion - I have shudder'd at it. I shudder no more. I could be martyr'd for my religion. Love is my religion.'"

"Wow," I whispered. "That's deep."

He nodded his head, then looked at me. "You ever been in love, Bella?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "There's this guy, Mike, that flirts with me, but I don't love him. I don't think I could ever love him." I swallowed my nerves down and took a deep breath. "What about you? You ever been in love?"

He smiled. "No, but I'm thinkin' about it."

It was then that I noticed how alone we were. Jasper and Peter were passed out. Most of Jasper's other friends were either off hooking up with girls, or had left. Rose and Mac were walking around the field and I could barely make out their silhouettes.

The golden leaf we'd finished off earlier made me brave, and I leaned toward Tony and pressed my lips to his. When he didn't move, I froze. I'd kissed a few other boys before. Even made out once or twice, but that was it. I was pretty inexperienced, which was fine with me. I was only fifteen. I had loads of time. Plus, Forks was boring. Not much was expected from girls when it came to kissing and touching and sex.

Pulling back just a bit, I started to apologize. "Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Tony shut me up when he pulled me back to him and kissed me again. "Be quiet. You just caught me off guard," he whispered before kissing me again. Soon enough we were lying in the grass, his body leaning over mine as he kissed me until I was nearly dizzy.

"You wanna go somewhere?" I managed to ask as I tried to catch my breath.

"Where? What do you wanna do?" he said. His lips were on my neck and he was making my whole body tingle even more than the pot from earlier had.

"Um, there's another field a little ways over. We could go there." I pushed my fingers through his hair as I held him tighter against me. "I really don't want Jasper to wake up and catch us doing stuff. That's gross."

He laughed. "Yeah. Plus he'd probably beat me up, and I really don't wanna get beat up the first time I'm feelin' up a girl."

"You haven't done this before?" I softly asked.

"No. Is that a problem?" He leaned away from me, his eyes looking at me in a worried way.

"Not for me. I haven't done it, either."

With that he stood up, took my hand, and we walked toward the practice field. It was on the other side of the locker room building, and it was a little darker, a little more secluded. Before long we were rolling around in the grass, his hands all over my body. I could feel how hard his dick was, and I carefully unbuttoned his pants so that I could touch him.

"Oh shit," he mumbled as he kissed my tits and pushed his fingers into me. "You sure you wanna do this here?" he asked.

"So sure. Please."

With that his pants were pushed down, my skirt was pushed up, and then I felt him sliding back and forth along my wet, sticky folds. His fingers held my underwear to the side as he lay on top of me and slowly began to push himself inside.

It hurt. Not a lot, but it was uncomfortable. He apologized a million times. I tried to bite my lip so that I wouldn't cry.

"I'm so sorry, my Little Beauty," he whispered into my ear. "We should stop."

He was half way in, and I didn't want to stop. I wanted him. He was everything I'd ever dreamed of and he was my way out of Forks. Somehow I just knew it. And I wanted it.

"No, keep going. Please," I begged, then kissed him. As his tongue slid into my mouth, the rest of his cock slid into my body, and it was perfect. It hurt like fuck, but it was perfect.

He didn't last long. I didn't expect him to. After he came in me, he pulled out and then used his fingers to rub me and touch me until I was shaking all over and cursing like a sailor. He held me in his arms afterward and whispered sweet things to me.

"'I shudder no more. I could be martyr'd for my religion. Love is my religion. And I could die for that. I could die for you,'" he said as he kissed me tenderly. The look in his eyes melted me and in that moment I fell. I fell for him. I fell for love. I fell for perfection. I fell for everything. And because I fell, I got my heart broken the next day when he never showed up to meet me. And I realized he was gone.

*** O * O * O ***

**A/N: More soon...**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does. What I do own is a bag of chicken that I'm pretty sure I got for free at the grocery store last night. Weird, 'cause I saw the lady scan it, and I heard the machine beep, but then my coupon wouldn't work, so she manually entered it instead. Then when I got home and looked at my receipt I didn't see my chicken on there. Looks like maybe they paid me $1.25 to take home a free bag of chicken. Huh... stuff like that hardly ever happens to me. :D**

**Again, for **_**Artemis Leaena**_**. Guess who's back... Back again. Tony's back. Tell a friend. Oh sorry, sometimes I slip into random Eminem quoting moments. :D I'm weird. :)**

*** O * O * O ***

I brushed my teeth for the third time, trying to make sure they were clean and no trace of poppy seeds remained. At some point in her day, between sorting her Mary Kay shipment, bagging up customer orders, and convincing Rose that she needed half the new Autumn colored lipsticks, my mother had managed to buy groceries and completely fill the cupboard. Damn her and the lemon poppyseed muffins she bought. I couldn't stay away from those things, but I didn't need the little black seeds stuck in my teeth. Not with what I was planning to do.

I knew the carnival opened at noon. Opening day it was always noon, come rain or shine. The local schools let out early, too, so I was well aware that if I planned to be at the front of the line I'd either have to be early, or be prepared to battle back the ankle biters who were dying to get at the cotton candy and sno cone stands.

"Rose, let's go!" I yelled down the stairs. She and my father were watching some kind of wrestling-fighting-boxing show. All I knew was there was a lot of screaming and yelling coming from my living room, and only part of it was from the men on the screen who were bleeding and beating each other to death. Other than the slick looking muscled up men, I wasn't sure what Rose saw in the sport. My father called it job training. He needed to know how the crazies fought now days. But Rose... I think she just got off on seeing men get beaten-down, on men crying and whimpering against the fence of the ring, on blood and spit and sweat flying through the air and splattering all over the crazy audience.

"What's the rush?" she complained once we were finally in her car and headed back to the rodeo grounds.

I huffed, pushing my foot against the floor board. Apparently I thought I could make her drive faster if I made the same movements she did. "Tony. I know it was him last night. I need to get there, to find him. I know it was him."

"Ah, Bell," she said with a sigh. "I think you're getting your hopes up, sweetie. It's been four years, honey. I don't think he's coming back. I mean, I know you two had some freaky connection and that he promised he'd be back for you, but I really think you could get hurt here."

I knew Rose was just worried about me, but I needed to know. I had to see him, to see if it was really him. How else could he have known the name he called me? Was it just a coincidence? The man I'd talked to last night was different than the boy I'd fallen in love with. Could it really be him?

We parked in the lot and hurried toward the front gates. There was a line, but it wasn't bad, and we only had to threaten to beat up about a dozen junior high sleazes. I hadn't realized that childrens clothing stores sold skank-wear to the under twelve crowd, but apparently they did. A lot less fabric for them to stock, I guess.

A cute blonde girl took our money and stamped our hands as we entered the park.

"Um, do you know if there's a Tony that works here? Maybe one of the rides or something?" I asked her.

"Tony, Tony, Tony... Um, I don't think so, but there's an Anthony in the burger shack. Maybe that's him."

"Thanks," I said, then grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her behind me as I ran for Food Row. There were two burger places. The first one had a pimple faced, greasy haired boy inside the booth. Not Tony. The other had a brunette guy in it, and even though he didn't look like my Tony, I had to ask. "You Anthony?" I yelled into the small window.

"Yeah. Why?" Once he leaned down so I could see him close up, I knew it wasn't him. Not my Tony.

"Nevermind. You're not who I'm looking for."

"I could be."

"Yeah, I don't think so. Are there any other Tony's working here? Anyone at all that you know of?" I asked.

"Nope, I think I'm it. You want a burger, or what?"

Rose winked at him and blew him a kiss in the air, then pulled me away from my disappointment. "Come on, we're gonna go find The Zipper and see if Emmett's working it this morning. We can ask him about your Tony, okay?"

I nodded, hoping that Emmett would be my ticket to Tony. Just my luck he was working the ride, and we hurried toward him

"Hey, ladies!" he called as he walked from cage to cage making sure the doors were locked up tight. "You sure didn't waste any time getting' here today. Lookin' for anything special?" he asked as he smiled at Rose and wiggled his eyebrows. There was something about him... He just seemed way too familiar to me. He started the ride spinning and then stepped toward us as the cages began to turn and the kids started to scream.

"Bella was wondering about something and we thought you might be able to help," Rose told him. Then she started rubbing her hand up and down his arm. Seriously. Her shirt was low cut enough that she didn't even have to try to get him worked up. I could tell from seven feet away that he was WAY into her. That didn't stop her, though. It was almost like she was in heat or something, and she definitely couldn't get enough of Emmett.

"What's up, Bella?" Emmett asked, after clearing his throat a couple of times and trying to maintain some small bit of composure.

"I thought I saw a guy here last night. I'm not sure, but I think it was a guy I knew a long time ago. Do you know if there's a Tony working here?" I asked.

Emmett's eyes flashed to me and he almost looked a little panicked. Rose's fingers were trailing across his chest and I watched his Adam's Apple bob up and down as he swallowed nervously before answering me.

"No. No Tony. I mean, not that I know of. Why are you looking for him? What's the deal?" he asked.

I let out a long breath and sigh. "I don't know. I just... I met this guy like four years ago, and he was perfect. I totally fell for him and then he just up and left. I thought he was working the carnival, but I never asked. He was supposed to meet me the next day, but he never showed." I closed my eyes, shaking my head back and forth. "It's probably crazy, I know, but I thought maybe... I thought maybe he'd come back for me someday. I thought last night that maybe it was him."

"Hang on," Emmett said before running back over to the ride control panel and stopping the giant rotating arm and all the cages. It took a few minutes for all the cages to empty of kids and then refill, but once they started spinning again Emmett came back to us.

"You look so hot opening and closing those cages," Rose cooed to him, batting her eyelashes and making her intentions toward him blatantly obvious. Not that she needed to or anything. Emmett was already hooked. I could tell.

Emmett shifted back and forth from one foot to the other, his eyes resting on anything but me. He was starting to freak me out, though I didn't know why. "Bella, I don't know what to tell you. I mean, there's not a Tony working here. You're sure his name was Tony, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that's what he told me." Then a horrible thought crossed my mind for the very first time. "What if he just told me that was his name, but it wasn't? What if he lied to me? If he tricked me? Rose," I said, turning to her with pleading eyes. "What if it was all just some joke?"

"Bella, no. I know you didn't spend much time with him, but what you felt was real. I've heard you tell me about him a million times. You can't lie about something as true as that."

She and Emmett looked perfect standing next to each other. His dark curly hair complimented her blonde straight locks. Where he was hard and chiseled, she was soft and shapely. The deep dimples in his cheeks grew even more pronounced when he smiled, just like the sparkle in her eyes did when she laughed. Their perfection made me happy for them, and so sad for myself.

"I'm gonna go get some air," I said. What I really meant to say was distance.

"Bell, we're outside," Rose said.

"I know. But I'm gonna leave you two alone for a little while. I'll be back."

I wandered up and down Game Row, then Food Row, then crossed back and forth between the different rides. The crowd was steadily growing, even though the clouds on the horizon were a sure sign we'd be getting rain soon. In the back corner of the set up was the merry-go-round. It was huge and ornate and loud. The music that was playing from it as it spun around made the animals sliding up and down seem almost magical. I watched it for a few minutes before I noticed a man working in the middle section of the ride. The closed sign was hanging from a chain that blocked off the area were patrons could line up. As the ride circled around and around, the man in the middle stayed still, letting the glitz and gaudiness spin around him.

Watching him was hard, being that horses kept blocking my view of him. Plus it was kinda dark where he was, with the roof on the ride and all. He was wearing a dark colored beanie on his head, so I couldn't see his hair very well. What I could see was the white wife-beater he was wearing. And I could see his shoulders and arms, and the huge tattoo that covered his right shoulder. It extended down his arm to his elbow before it stopped. I couldn't tell what it was, but as his muscles flexed and contracted before my eyes, I found myself wanting to trace whatever pattern was on it. With my tongue. Or my finger. Or even my toe. I didn't care, I just wanted to touch him.

Finally the ride began to slow down and I watched as he closed the panel on the middle column part in the center of the ride. He picked up a tool box and made his way out of the carousel. Once he'd stowed away the tools he moved to the control panel and sat down, letting his fingers work over the buttons and switches before him. I watched as he checked all the lights, then adjusted the music level and speed, and finally started the ride spinning at a decent pace. The sunlight sparkled off something on his face, and I squinted my eyes to try and get a better look. From what I could tell – a good 30 feet away – it looked like his eyebrow was pierced. And then I saw the same glimmer on his ear, in two places.

He was pierced. And tattooed. I licked my lips, wondering where else he might be pierced or tatted. I wanted to find out.

It wasn't long before he returned to his control panel and stopped the ride. He pulled a t-shirt on over his tank top and then pulled the beanie off. Rubbing his hand over his head, his short hair stuck up all over. It didn't look long enough to style, but the crazy erratic short cut looked good on him. It was that moment when the sun decided to shine right on him and highlight the one thing I would know anywhere.

His copper colored hair. It was like a burnt penny. Perfection.

He removed the closed sign from the line-up area, then went back to wait for the wild, messy children and their frazzled parents. I kept watching him, hoping for a sign that he was my Tony. After several minutes I decided to be brave. I got up from the bench I was sitting on and made my way to the merry-go-round.

"One, please," I said, watching him. He kept his eyes trained on the cash box in front of him as he took my money.

"Thanks. Enjoy your ride."

He never looked up at me, but I couldn't stop staring at him. I tried to choose a horse where I knew I would be able to spot him quickly, and often. Once the ride was about half way full and the line was empty, he started us spinning. Round and round, it reminded me of my life. I just went around and around because that was all I knew. I just needed one chance, one adventure, one person who believed in me enough that they'd want me with them. One person to stop my merry-go-round life and give me something new, something true, something real and honest and good.

When the spinning began to slow, some of the children whined. Some were grateful it was over. Most seemed indifferent and ready for the next thing. I took several deep breaths and then remained sitting on my horse. It was now or never. I had to take a chance.

All the kids were gone, running toward the next attraction, leaving me alone on the ride. As he walked around checking to see if all was clear, I couldn't help but think there was something else I'd like to ride, and that something was moving closer and closer to me. When he finally spotted me, he seemed to freeze.

"You're ride's over, Miss," he softly said. I remained where I was, hoping he'd come closer.

"I know, but I was hoping maybe you could help me with something."

"And what might that be, ma'am?" he said as he approached me.

"See, there was this guy I met once, and..."

He looked up at me, his green eyes meeting mine, and my breath hitched in my throat.

"Tony?" I whispered.

He smiled, then moved close enough that he could run his fingers down my cheek.

"Hi, Bella."

*** O * O * O ***

**A/N: More soon...**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does. What I do own is a half dozen Black Sex Link chicken hens that lay about 3 eggs a day. And that come running toward me whenever I go into my backyard. They LOVE bread. And they seem to think I always have some with me. Silly birds. :D**

**Again, for **_**Artemis Leaena**_**. I know, it sucks being left hanging. And I suck at writing lately. But we're almost done. :)**

*** O * O * O ***

I froze. My eyes stared into his. Brown to green. Green to brown. It felt like forever, but I knew it wasn't. He was different, not the same as he'd been before, but I knew he was my Tony. For the first time ever I took a moment to really look at him, to appreciate what he looked like in the light of day. I hadn't seen him that way before, but I liked what I saw. Hot damn, regardless of how things turned out, someday I'd be telling my grandkids about the hottie that popped my cherry. Maybe not in those exact words, but you never know. I was gonna be the "cool grandma." I just had a feeling.

"The piercings," I said as I looked at the eyebrow ring, and the tragus and helix piercings. "You didn't have those before."

"No, I didn't," he quietly replied. "Your hair's blonde."

I nodded. "Yeah. I just did it not long ago."

"I like the pink."

That made me smile. "Mary Kay Perkisplosion Pink. I think it's meant for old ladies 'cause it comes in Berry Cobbler Blue and Live-it-up Lilac, too. And only old ladies want blue or purple hair, so..."

"I forgot how funny you are," he said with a laugh that lit up his whole face. I liked seeing him that way, but I was nervous.

"I try. I gotta have some kinda redeeming quality that makes up for being one of the only non-Mary's in town."

He watched me for a few more moments before finally stepping back and holding his hand out to me. "You gotta off the horse."

"Oh, yeah. Nothin' like having a giant wooden horse between your legs. Like a Trojan horse, you know? Big and hard, right there between your thighs," I mindlessly babbled as I climbed down from the large white horse I'd been sitting on.

He coughed and sputtered, his eyes growing wide. "Uh, I wouldn't know about that."

Then I realized what I'd said. Oh fuck, as if my life couldn't get any worse. "Sorry. I tend to ramble when I get nervous."

"Why are you nervous?" he asked, keeping hold of my hand once both of my feet were on the floor of the carousel.

"You make me nervous."

He sucked in a deep breath and then slowly let it out. "Do you have time to talk?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay."

I followed him back to the little station where the ride's control panel was. He sat down on the stool and grabbed a walkie-talkie. "Hey Chels," he said.

"Whassup, Eddie boy?" a girls voice replied in a tone that made me instantly jealous and possessive. Then it made me wonder. Eddie boy? What the crap, I thought his name was Tony.

"I need someone to cover the merry-go-round for a little bit."

"Uh, we like just opened. I don't have anyone free yet," she told him.

"Oh, well somethin's still not runnin' right, so I'm gonna close it down for a little while. I gotta go get a different part for the motor," he told her while watching me.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she almost yelled at him. "Fine, just get it fixed and open."

"Yeah, well, you know me. Safety first."

I heard her laughing through the walkie-talkie. "Oh yeah, I know that about you. That reminds me," she said, her voice getting softer and lower. "You busy tonight?"

"Yeah. Sorry." He turned off the little hand held device and looked at me a little sheepishly.

"She'd better be ugly," I mumbled under my breath. He smiled.

"Hang on," he said. I watched him hurry back to the center of the carousel where he'd been working earlier and open one of the doors, then pull something out before closing the door again. "At least this way they can't start her up 'til I get back."

He was so smart. And hot. Ugh, he was sexy as hell and I might have walked behind him a step or two, just so I could stare at the way his ass moved in his jeans. Perfect.

"My friend Alec runs the ferris wheel. He owes me," he said as we got closer to the enormous wheel that towered over the carnival.

"Funny, that's what Emmett told Rose, too," I said. Tony looked at me a little strangely, then pulled me behind him toward the boarding platform.

"Alec, I need a swing, and don't stop us, okay?"

The guy running the controls smiled, then ushered us onto the next open seat. Once we were buckled in and riding into the air, I turned to look at Tony.

"So first things, first. What's your name? You told me it was Tony but that girl called you Eddie. And the only carnie named Tony works over at one of the burger shacks, so what gives?" I folded my arms across my chest, then gave him my best stink eye. Clearly I meant business. Though I may have also been attempting to lull him into truth-telling by pushing my boobs together and distracting him with the cleavage that was peeking out of the low neckline of my shirt.

"Well, I never told you my name was Tony," he said, his eyes bouncing back and forth from my tits to my eyes. My spur-of-the-moment-plan was working. I was an evil genius. Or horny. Whatever.

"Bullshit. You did so."

"No, Emmett told you that. I never said anything about it. I just let you think that, but I was gonna tell you the truth the next day. I swear."

"So what was with the fake names? He said his was Mac. Why did you lie to us? To me?" I wanted to know. Had I just been a game to him? How could he have sex with me, knowing it was my first time, and let me think he was someone else? Who does that?

"Well, Emmett thought it be a good idea if we used fake names. I mean, we were buyin' pot from some total stranger in a town neither of us had ever been to. He thought it would be better if we didn't give our real names. And then the guy we bought from was telling us about hanging out with his friends and how there were hot girls there, and it was our last night in town so we thought we'd go. Blow off a little steam, you know? I never imagined I'd meet someone like you. Someone perfect and sweet and amazing. And by that point our fake names were already out there. I couldn't very well tell you I was lying. I didn't want you to think I was just saying things so that you'd let me be with you."

Everything he said made sense. Damn him and his smooth voice. The sincerity in his eyes. The way his lush lips moved as he spoke. The scent of him that hit me with each little breeze. Damn, he was hot.

"You shoulda told me," I said, looking down at my folded arms and squished-together boobs. Huh, I really did have a nice rack. A rack that hopefully Tony-Eddie would be appreciating at some point in the very near future, 'cause man, she needed some decent attention.

"I wanted to. I was going to, I swear. I wanted to see you the next morning, but everyone started pulling out of town so early, and I didn't know where you lived. We were already half way to Seattle by 10 o'clock. There was no way I could have found you, and I had to go. I didn't have the money for a bus ticket if I'd stayed to see you."

"Why did you have to go? What do you mean?"

I wanted to know him. Know what made him tick, what made him be the person he was. I wanted to know everything about him. I wanted to confirm in my head that he was the right one, the one for me. My heart already knew it.

"I was eighteen that summer we met. Emmett got me the job with the carnival. He'd worked it the summer before and all his stories about seeing places and just living? I wanted it. All my life I'd done everything my parents told me to do. I'd studied, I'd practiced, I'd been a good kid. And that fall I was going to college on a scholarship. My parents don't have a lot of money, so I couldn't ask them for help. The carnie job would let me make enough to live on for the school year and I wouldn't have to work part-time. That way I could study and keep my scholarship."

I may have swooned a little bit. Hearing him speak so passionately about school and his life... Yeah, it got me. Got me right in my heart and mind and girlie bits. Ugh, I wanted him. For a moment I wondered just how much trouble we'd get into if I straddled his lap and we started going at it. I wondered if we'd plunge to our deaths, or if worse... they'd call my dad out to arrest us. I forced myself to stop thinking about it and listen to what my boy had to say.

"I needed that job, Bella. We get paid every two weeks here, but if we stay all summer then our bonus comes at the end. I needed the money. Plus, I needed a ride home. Chicago's a long way from Washington."

"You live in Chicago?" I asked.

"I'm from there, yeah. I went to college a little south of there, but that's my home."

"I've never been there," I said. "I've seen pictures."

"You'd like it, I think."

"So, if Tony's not your name, what is it?"

"Edward. My name's Edward Anthony Cullen. Tony's from my middle name. And Mac comes from Emmett's last name, McCarty."

"Oh, okay."

We sat quietly for a few minutes, each of us staring off at the land all around us. We had a pretty good view from the top of the ferris wheel.

"So, you got a boyfriend?" he asked. He didn't look at me.

"Um, yeah. You got a girlfriend?" I didn't really want to know. I mean, I _really_ didn't want to know. Especially if she was a carnie, too. The thought of him doing with other girls even half of the things I'd done with Mike... No. I'd have to kill someone.

"No, not really. I date here and there, but no one serious. You and your boyfriend... You serious?"

"I don't know. I feel like we should be. We've been together a long time. But I don't love him. I don't wanna marry him or anything."

"Oh, I see." I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"I think he's just a place holder," I confessed.

"A place holder for what?"

"Not what," I said, then turned to look at him. "Who."

"Me?" he asked and it looked like his eyes sparkled a bit more as he said it.

"I wanted to see you that day. The next day. I waited and waited, but you never came. I think my heart broke when I finally admitted to myself that you were gone. I didn't think I'd ever see you again, that you'd ever come back. I just held on to something else that could fill the void you left, but it never really worked."

"Bella, I'm so sorry. Please, you have to know how much I wanted to see you, to stay with you. You have to know how I've tried every summer to get back here, but they always put me on different routes. I've been through the South, through the central states, through the North-East. I've been all over this damn country and finally this year they let me choose where I wanted to go. I said here, this route, and then I started prayin' to anyone who might be listening that you'd still be here."

"Really?"

"I couldn't call you. I didn't know your last name. I had nothing to offer you. I was a poor college kid who studied his life away, all in an effort to make something of myself so that when I finally did get back here – and I was _always_ planning to come back for you – I'd be able to offer you something. I'd be able to give you a life and a promise. I'd be able to take care of you and make you happy."

My eyes started to tear up as I watched him. He meant it, all of it. I could see it in the way his body twisted and angled toward mine. He felt the same way for me that I felt for him.

"And now I'm back for you. I've come for you, Bella, and I want you to be mine and go away with me. I wanna make you happy someplace far away from here. And I know it's a lot to ask, that you don't know me very well and you have no reason to trust me, but Bella, I fell in love with you that night and no matter what's happened since then and now, I'm still in love with you. I'm never gonna stop feeling that wa-"

I grabbed his face and pressed my lips against his hard and fierce and so, so powerfully. I held his face to mine for several seconds before I finally pulled away and looked into his eyes.

"I love you, too. And I don't care about anything else. If you want me to go with you, I will. Just say so, and I'll go."

He smiled. "So."

I laughed as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me back to him. The way he kissed me told me everything I needed to know. We were right and true and honest. And I'd never feel for anyone else the things I felt for him. My Tony, or Edward, or whatever his name was. I mean, it could have been worse than Edward. He could have been named Marion, or Maury, or Martin.

As the ferris wheel brought us back toward the ground and Edward signaled to Alec that we were ready to get off, I heard a loud smack and then a yelling voice that I knew far too well.

"You son of a bitch! I can't believe you lied to me! You sorry asshole!"

I turned to Edward and smiled. "I think Rose just figured out who Emmett is."

*** O * O * O ***

**A/N: More soon...**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does. What I do own is a black t-shirt that my wifey sent me. It's from her & her hubby's company and I wear it probably once a week. :D No one in Arizona knows what it's for, but I don't care. I like it. :)**

**Again, for **_**Artemis Leaena**_**. Hope you've been enjoying all the other FAGE stories while your slacker-author gets distracted from finishing yours. :) We're close, I promise. :D**

*** O * O * O ***

For the rest of the afternoon I sat at the merry-go-round control panel, watching Edward work. Staring at him. Ogling him. Eying him like a fat kid eyes a cup cake. He was on until seven in the evening, so I knew it would be a long day but I didn't care. I could watch him all day. Seeing him smile at little kids, watching him carefully check each rider's waist belt, appreciating his arms and chest and ass and lips and eyes while he was... well, doing everything, really. I may have pinched myself a few times, just to make sure I wasn't dreaming. And each time he came back to sit by me, he kissed me. It made me smile.

And don't think I wasn't aware that the gossip queens of Forks were already on the case. I knew they were. A few of them had seen me, and again, I didn't care. My mother texted me several times demanding to know what was going on and who the "fuck-hot tattooed guy" was. I ignored her texts, then shut my phone off when she asked if I thought he'd be interested in any Mary Kay concealer to cover up his tats. I wasn't covering those things up! She was crazy if she thought I'd let Edward hide them.

They were pretty tattooes, too. I traced the one on his arm with my fingers, smiling as I took in the curves and pictures that were inked into his skin. He told me what it meant, all the individual little pictures. They all tied together to represent him, all the things he loved and the life he'd lived. He said his dad had one like it, and he'd always wanted one. Then when he was 19 and after he'd just finished his second summer with the carnival, he was heading back to school and needed something to shake him up a bit. He and Emmett passed a tattoo parlor and a few days later they went inside. Shockingly enough, Emmett got a tattoo of a rose over his heart. I was pretty sure Rose would totally forget any anger she felt toward him when she saw that.

My favorite part of the tattoo was one section with dark swirls that looked like strands of hair. They grew out from under a coat of arms and curled at the ends. Written just underneath them were two words – Piccola Bella. Edward said that was for me.

"It doesn't translate exactly to Little Beauty, but it does mean Little Beautiful. And aside from your eyes and you voice, the thing I remember most from the night we met was you hair. It was so dark and long and the way it curled at the ends, and then how it spread out under you when we were on that field... you know." He blushed. He fucking _blushed_ just thinking about our time together. It may have melted me even more, as if I weren't liquidy and squirming enough over him. "I don't think I'll ever forget that," he said.

"Me, either. I didn't forget your eyes or your smile or your hair. I could never forget them," I told him, and then let him kiss me until I was breathless and he had to stop the carousel again.

After his shift was done we rode a few of the rides, ate cotton candy and corn dogs, and got our pictures taken in one of those silly little photo booths. Finally I had something tangible of him and me together, and I made him buy six photo strips by the time we were done. We were kissing in about 75 percent of the pictures, but I couldn't help it. Feeling his lips on mine again after so long was addicting. And I was addicted. I always had been.

"So, we tear down the rides on Monday and then we roll out of town on Tuesday," he said as we sat on a bench watching the lights of the carnival light up the night.

"Okay. You want me to come with you?"

"Yeah, if you want to. Um, we have buses and RV's that most of the crew ride on, but Emmett and I are gonna be picking up a car in Seattle. Our uncle lives there and he wants us to drive a car back to Chicago for him. So, if you come with me, it'll just be the trip to Seattle on the bus, and after that we'll be in a car. And the circuit only goes another two weeks and then we head to Illinois."

I nodded. "Okay."

I didn't know much about Edward, and I knew nothing of his life, but I wanted to.

He fiddled nervously with my hand that rested in his lap. His fingers played with mine as he licked his lips and sucked in a long, deep breath. He was amazing. "So, I'm gonna be going back to school to get my Masters. But I'm also working for the university in one of their research programs, and any of my direct family members can go to school for cheap. Like, really cheap," he said as his eyes bounced around to look at everything except mine. "I don't know if you're going to school here or not, but if you want to go to school there, you can. Or not, whatever. And Emmett and I have an apartment lined up, so we can live there for a while, if you want."

I smiled a little as how sweet he was. "Okay."

Finally he looked into my eyes. "I guess what I'm trying to say is I want you to be with me. Always. And not just as some girl I know or some girl I'm dating, but as my forever. My one. I'm serious about this – about you – and I want that to be perfectly clear to everyone. I want to give you a life, Bella. I want to make you happy, and to make you proud of me. I want to give you a future that you can look forward to and be excited about. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms every night, and wake up next to you every morning. I want to have children with you someday, and grand-children with you when we're old and gray."

I wasn't certain where his little speech was going, but it was making me all teary and my heart started beating faster.

"I know it's probably too soon to talk about getting married, and we should probably date for a while first, but I don't know... This feels right, you know? I don't feel like we should wait. I already know I want you and only you, so why put things off, you know?" he asked.

"I know," I said as I nodded my agreement to him.

"Can I meet your family? I want your parents to like me. And I really don't want your dad coming cross country with a shot gun to shoot me for stealin' his baby daughter."

We laughed at his words and his worry, and it might have sealed the deal for me right then and there.

"We can meet them tonight, if you want. I'm sure they're home."

With that, we spent a few more minutes on the bench kissing and then headed off to find Emmett and Rose. She was my ride to the carnival, and even though it was only a mile or so back into town and we could have walked, I figured I should at least attempt to find her and make sure she was okay. She definitely was, and it seemed she'd found Emmett's rose tattoo. After spotting the two of them in the back of her car, Edward and I waited for them to finish what they were doing and get their clothes back into place so that we could leave. Seeing them all hot and heavy also reminded me of being with Edward that way, and I began to wonder how long it would be before we could get down and dirty again. I didn't want to wait. I just wanted him.

"Where are you staying tonight?" I asked him as we leaned against the back of a car parked a few spaces away from Rose's.

"I was planning to stay on the bus like usual. Why?" Edward replied.

"Well, I just was thinking maybe you could stay with me."

His eyes grew about three sizes bigger and he cleared his throat. "Uh... Well... Um, you mean... like at your parent's house with you?" I nodded. "Where your parents live and will be home?" I nodded again, and smiled brightly. "Don't you think we should see if they even like me before we decide if I should be asleep under the same roof as them?"

"Who says you'll be sleeping?"

Edward quickly jumped away from me. "Oh no, no way. I'm not doing... stuff... with you in your parent's house, Bella. No."

"Wow, that wild guy image you got goin' with the tats and the piercings sure isn't true, is it?" I laughed.

He took several deep breaths before walking back to me and taking my hands in his. "It's about respect. That's all, trust me. Because if you had an apartment of your own, we'd already be there, and you'd already be naked."

"Oh," I whimpered as he started into my eyes. "I can get one real quick if you want."

"Soon enough. I promise. Though I might be persuaded to kiss you a little bit in your parent's house. If they like me, that is."

"They will. They'll love you. And even if they don't we're leaving soon anyway, right?" I asked him. "But in case they're not too excited about me running off with a traveling carnie, just remember the three things you love the most, other than me."

"What three things?" he asked with a nervous look on his face.

"Apple pie, Mary Kay cosmetics, and pot. Though the pot one is for my brother, and you probably shouldn't mention that in front of my dad, since he's the sheriff and all."

"Please tell me you're joking," he pled.

"About my dad being the sheriff?" I asked with a smile. Guys were always such wussies when it came to that little tidbit of information. I usually didn't clue them in on the fact that my dad spent more time day dreaming about apple desserts than he did tracking down criminals.

"No, I'm fine with him being a cop. And I'm fine with your brother smoking pot. It's the Mary Kay thing. Bella, I don't know how to tell you this, but..."

I held my breath as my stomach began to twist from the unease that was lacing his words and displayed all over his face.

"Bella, my mom... my mom sells Avon."

I sucked in a quick breath. "Nooooooooo."

*** O * O * O ***

**A/N: Noooo! The horror! Let's hope Renee/Mary Ann doesn't find out what Esme does. It might not be pretty...**

**More soon...**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does. What I do own is a minivan that is having transmission issues. I'm glad the work is under warranty, but them keeping it all weekend and for who knows how long this week means my hubs is taking my car to work... and leaving me alone with no car. And no way to get kids to school or work. Ugh, I hate that... having to actually ask favors of people. :(**

**Again, for **_**Artemis Leaena**_**. Sorry I suck. Life's crazy. I hope this at least makes you laugh. :)**

*** O * O * O ***

"I knew it!" I groaned as I raked my hands through my hair. "I knew something had to go wrong. It was all going so perfectly. Too perfect. I should have known something would happen. I just never dreamed it would be something as horrible as a competing cosmetic company."

Edward pulled me into his arms and against his chest, rubbing his hands up and down my back.

"It'll be fine. I promise. You'll see, it'll be okay," he softly said into my ear as my mind attempted to formulate a plan for sneaking Edward out of town before my mother got ahold of him. Being pressed so close against him I drew in a deep breath, trying to calm myself. That's when I smelled it.

"You're wearing Derek Jeter Driven? Are you kidding me?" I yelled as I frantically pushed away from him. "How did I not smell this before?"

"Bella, what?"

"I can't be close to you or I'll get that scent on me. You don't know my mother, Edward. She spends hours studying Avon's fragrance lines and she'll smell you from a mile away. You have to shower before we go to my house."

He laughed, clearly not understanding the seriousness of the situation. "Baby, come on. I'm sure it'll be fine. My mom just sells it as a hobby. A way for her to make extra money so that she and her sister can take a vacation together once a year. It's not like it's her life or anything. And she would never choose Avon over me and the girl who makes me happy. I'm sure you mom's the same way."

"You don't know her," I said, staring into his eyes and trying to make him see just how huge of a problem we had on our hands. "Mary Kay is my mom's life! She eats, breathes, and sleeps it. She would choose Mary Kay over anything, even her family. You don't get it."

"Bella," he sighed.

"Oh shit. We're Romeo and Juliet."

"What?"

"You're Romeo and I'm Juliet. You know, star-crossed lovers, parents who were bitter enemies, died for love. That's us. They're gonna run you out of town just like they did with Romeo, and then I'm gonna end up using some random Mary Kay product to fake my own death, but you won't understand and then your Avon-acclimated body will reject the product when you take it yourself, and you'll really die and then I'm gonna have to order some kind of weapon from the Mary Kay site online and wait for it to be delivered and then hide the package from my mother long enough to get what I need out of it, erase it from the shipping label, and then kill myself. That could take a week, Edward!"

Clearly I'd lost my mind and Edward could tell. He was so gonna high-tail it out of Forks without me. I was a whole ball of crazy that he would never want to deal with.

"Bella, what's going on?" Rose said. As I stopped pacing I noticed that she and Emmett were standing next to Edward, looking at me as though I'd lost my mind. Well yeah, I pretty much had.

"His mother sells Avon!" I yelled.

"Noooooo!" Rose said with a gasp, jumping a few feet away from Edward., then turning to look closely at Emmett before sniffing him and then rushing toward me. "Is it on me? The stench of him, is it on me? Emmett, how could you?"

Emmett smiled. "Yeah, Aunt Esme gave me a gift basket of stuff for my birthday. It's great. I smell awesome. You wanna see for yourself, Bella?" he asked as he pulled his shirt collar away from him and toward me.

"Okay, stop it," Edward said. "This is ridiculous. We're gonna go to your house, okay?" he said to me. The fierceness and authority in his voice stopped me in my tracks. He was so fucking hot. "We're gonna meet your family and then we're gonna meet Rose's family. It will be fine. Emmett and I will be perfect gentlemen and then if the whole cosmetic war starts we'll just plead for leniency and say we didn't know any better, but that we want to learn the ways of The Force, and all that. We'll beg your mom to teach us, okay? It'll be fine. I promise."

"You sure?" I asked.

"Yes. I'd do anything for you, Bella. Trust me. Please."

With a nod I stepped forward and melted into his arms again. I noticed how the fragrance he was wearing really complimented the natural scent of his skin, and I liked it. As he held me he began to laugh a little.

"You like it now, don't you?" he whispered into my ear.

"Maybe. A little." Maybe a lot, and too much, but I wasn't gonna tell him that. Not yet, anyway.

As we got closer and closer to my house I could have sworn I heard "Taps" playing through the trees in the forest. They were mocking me, laughing at poor Not-Quite-A-Mary Bella of Forks. Edward held my hand and kissed my face over and over again. He whispered things to me in an attempt to calm me, but nothing even had an affect until he started talking about sex and my body parts and what he wanted to do to me. Unfortunately that didn't make me any more calm. It just got me worked up in a whole different kind of way.

We pulled up in front of my house and Rose cut the engine. "Are we all going in?" she asked, looking at me through the rear-view mirror. It was dark by that point and I could see all the lights in my house were turned on. My mother was waiting to pounce on me, I was sure of it. I thought I saw the curtains in the living room window move a few times and I decided I might need more witnesses in case my mother went ballistic over the whole Avon thing. I was fairly certain Rose or Emmett would be a lot faster to respond to Edward's cries of help than my dad would be. He'd probably have to wash the stickiness of apple fritter off his hands first.

"Let's go," I whispered, then grabbed ahold of Edward's hand and opened the car door. As we walked along the pathway that led to the front porch I saw a dark shadow slowly move from the neighbor's backyard to my backyard. It wasn't quick enough to be anyone other than my father. My only hope was that he'd consumed enough apple pie or apple tarts – or whatever Mary Sue was baking that day – that he would already be started toward his nightly sugar coma. A girl could dream.

"Everyone keep on your toes. And Edward," I said before turning to face him. "If this goes bad just keep in mind that I love you, and I have since that night. And I'll never forget you. And if all else fails, run. Fast and far, and don't ever look back."

"It'll be fine. You'll see."

I let out a sigh. "We should pray. Or forget all about this and just leave town now." I tried to tug Edward toward the car but he was bigger than I was and most likely had a good 50 pounds on me. He didn't budge.

"Come on, Bella," Rose said. I glared at my best friend, knowing she would be acting the same way I was once we got to her house.

I grabbed Edward's face and pulled it to mine. "One more kiss," I whispered. "This might be it for us."

"Would you stop being so dramatic?" he mumbled against my lips before kissing me long and hard.

Maybe it was a secret weapon of some sort, because when I leaned away from him my head was swimming in a hazy fog and I was feeling nothing but bliss and love. I giggled as I pulled him toward the door and smiled like a drunken wino when my mother opened it.

"Mary Bella?" she asked, the light from inside shining bright behind her and making it seem like she was glowing. "Who's this?"

"Hey, Mom," I said with a smile. "This is Edward. And that's Rose and Emmett."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am," Edward said as he reached his hand out for my mother to shake.

"Well, come on in," she said as she stepped backward and pulled the door opened. I could tell the exact moment she smelled the Avon cologne that Edward and Emmett were wearing. Her nose scrunching up in disgust, her head pulling back and creating a triple-chin as her body went rigid and board straight. After she closed the door and Rose led the boys toward the living room, I paused next to my mother.

"He's important. Please don't mess this up for me."

She looked carefully at me, then pulled in a deep breath, held it, and finally forced it out through her nose. "Fine. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. For now. But do you think he'd be interested in taking a look at Mary Kay's new earring line? They've got some things for men that he might really like."

"Mom, stop. Just wait, okay?"

By the time we entered the living room Edward, Rose, and Emmett were all sitting down waiting, and my father was standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen. The curious look on his face as his eyes bounced back and forth between me and Edward wasn't too surprising, and I was relieved to see that he was dressed in his Forks Police Department sweat suit and that his gun belt was hanging on it's hook in the kitchen. The pastry crumbs in his mustache pretty much confirmed what I'd guessed earlier – it was him sneaking home in the dark from Mary Sue's House of Apple Desserty Goodness.

"Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Edward Cullen. Edward, these are my parents Charlie and Renee Swan."

"Mary Ann Swan," my mother said. "Just call me Mary Ann."

"It's an honor to meet you both," Edward said as he stood from the couch. Seeing him in my parent's home, with his tattooes and piercings... His looks didn't fit in at all. Not that there was anything wrong with his looks. He was drop-dead gorgeous and I knew every girl in town would want him if they saw him. Like I was going to let that happen. I just hoped that my parents would look past his physical appearance and try to get to know the real him. The him inside of him. His mind and his heart and his personality. I wanted them to see the sweetness about him, the softness in his eyes, the grace and kindness and love that I'd seen. As he shook my father's hand and I watched my dad give him the once over, I held my breath.

"You ever been arrested, boy?" my dad asked.

"No, sir. I graduated summa cum laude with a bachelors in engineering this past May, and in August I'll start working toward my Master's degree. I'm sure if you check out my background you won't find anything, not even a parking ticket or late dvd rental fee."

"DVDs? You still check out dvds, huh? I like that," my father said. "I don't trust all this on-line movie rental stuff. I mean, anyone could be hacking into your wifi and downloading your personal information. Identity theft is a big problem now days. The criminal element, son. You gotta stay one step ahead at all times."

"Yes, sir. I always keep my wifi security setting at it's highest. I wouldn't want anyone sneakin' in and stealing away the things I cherish most." Edward looked at me as he said it. I may have blushed a little. Or a lot. Whatever.

My mother asked a few questions about how we'd met and where Edward was from. When she couldn't find anything bad in what he'd said, she turned to me and let out a frustrated grunt. "Well, Bella where's Mike? I haven't seen him all day."

"Mother, please. I'm not dating him anymore."

"Oh, you broke up?" she asked. I glanced at Rose who was conveniently staring at the wallpaper.

"No, not yet. But I'm going to. Tomorrow."

Edward smiled at me, and I hoped it meant he was glad to hear that I was really done with Mike. I had been for a long time, but I'd been too stupid to actually end things. Or too lazy. And at least he was better than a vibrating rubber sex toy.

"Oh," my mother said. "Ugh, now I'm never gonna get that Mary Kay kiosk."

"Mom, there are better things in life than selling Mary Kay in a store."

"I can't think of many things better than beating Mary Ellen Newton in sales and finally getting my very own pink Cadillac," she grumbled as she walked toward the recliner and sat down, huffing as her arms folded across her chest.

"So, Edward, you and Emmett are working for the carnival? That means you're just passing through town?" my father asked.

Edward looked at me. "Well, yes, sir. We do and we are."

"Looks to me like you and my Bella here are a little serious. Bella's never brought any boy home other than Mike, and if I'm not mistaken, he invited himself over most times."

Ugh, Mike could be so pushy and cocky sometimes. Too bad it wasn't the right kind of cocky, though now that Edward was back, I was glad Mike's cock had never found it's way inside of me.

"Well, Mr. Swan," Edward said.

"That's Chief Swan," my father corrected him. "Continue."

"Chief Swan. See, I met Bella a few years ago, and I've thought of no one but her ever since." Edward's eyes met mine and I smiled as he kept talking. "I've done all I could to make something of myself so that when I got back here and saw her again, I'd have something to offer her. And sir, I want to make that happen."

My father looked a little green as he carefully studied Edward. "Oh?"

"Sir, with your blessing, I'd like to marry Bella. I'd like to take her with me when I leave here in a few days. I'd like the chance to give her anything and everything she could ever want."

"Bella?" my father said as he looked at me.

"I love him, Dad. I wanna go."

"But married? So soon? Don't you wanna just live in sin or something?" my dad asked. I laughed out loud at the idea of it, then thought maybe there was something to that idea. Edward and I really didn't know each other that well, so maybe it would be good to wait a bit. But then I looked at him, and the smile he was giving me, and I knew.

"No. Married. That's what I want," I said, smiling back at my man.

"Well," my dad said as he wiped a few tears from his eyes. "If that's what you want, then I suppose we'll be okay with it."

"What?" my mother yelled as she jumped up off of her chair. Apparently she'd awoken from the stupor caused by the idea that she'd never top Mary Ellen in Mary Kay sales. "You're just going to let her leave with him? Are you kidding? He's wearing Avon products, Charlie! How could you have missed that?"

"Now, Renee," my dad started to say.

"Avon, Charlie! That's one thing I can't live with. The thought of my daughter being subjected to Avon perfumes and lotions and make-up and jewelry..." She fanned herself with her hand as she started to wobble a bit. "Oh, my heart. My heart!"

Jasper and Alice walked into the house just as my mother flopped onto the sofa, her eyelids fluttering as she continued to mumble about different Avon products and how her future grandchildren were going to need to be saved. Emmett and Edward looked worried, but I knew better. This happened once a week, for a variety of different reasons. Rose sat on the couch picking at her nail polish, my dad stood in the doorway rubbing his belly, and watching Jasper as he looked around the room full of people, trying to figure out what was going on.

Alice went to my mother's aid, lifting her head into Alice's lap and talking sweetly to her about Mary Kay's newest perfume line. I figured everything was going to work out just fine, and then Jasper smiled and opened his mouth.

"Heeeeeey," he said, dragging out the word in his stoned out voice. "I know you." He pointed to Edward and Emmett with a smile on his face. "You're the carnies who bought reefer off me a few years ago, huh? And then you got kissy with Rose while you banged Bella on the football field."

You could have heard a pin drop, the room was so quiet. Jasper pointed at Edward and continued to laugh.

"Oh, sweet Mary Kay," my mother said just before she passed out.

*** O * O * O ***

**A/N: I pulled up next to a white car at an intersection the other day. It said Mary Kay on the side of it. It was all official-like and clearly someone's reward for selling lots of Mary Kay stuff. It make me think of Renee/Mary Ann, and giggle. :D**

**More soon...**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does. What I do own are two bags of Corn Nuts that I got for free at the grocery store. Gotta love coupons. :D**

**Again, for **_**Artemis Leaena**_**. I fail at life. Trust me. Both real life and fanfic life. Sorry. :)**

*** O * O * O ***

"So do boys in this town have a name thing similar to the Mary situation?" Edward asked me as we were sitting outside of Rose's house. Her mom and dad were screaming at her for bringing home a carnie, though I think it was really more about the fact that we showed up just as Mr. Hale was finally hitting that special spot deep inside of Mrs. Hale. You know, the one that makes your brain all fuzzy and causes you to forget how to speak. At least I think that's what it is. I know that's how it was the one time Edward was inside of me that deep.

"No, not really," I told him. "Though I did go to school with a Mary Joe. Poor guy."

He laughed. "Wait, there was a boy named Mary in your school?"

"Yeah. I mean, he was the last of seven kids. All older brothers. His mom _had_ to have a Mary and when the doctor told her that he was gonna be her last baby, she couldn't help it. His name was Mary Joseph, but he went by Mary Joe. Poor guy."

Edward continued to laugh, his profile lit up by the street light across the street and making me shiver. "I hope he moved far, far away from here."

"Not too far. I hear he's in Seattle working at a strip club. You know, a gay strip club. Maybe his mom knew something no one else did when she named him Mary."

His arm was wrapped around my shoulder and his other hand was holding mine. I was in love with him. After only 12 hours together I knew it. I'd never be able to part from him. Ever. His fingers slid up and down my arm as I relaxed against him.

Things hadn't gone too well at my house after Jasper made his big revelation. Not that my dad didn't know about the pot. Everyone knew. It was the third highest grossing product in Forks – third only to apples and Mary Kay. If it weren't for pot, a quarter of the town would be on welfare. As long as the growers and sellers and users showed up at church every week, the town turned the other cheek – love the sinner and hate the sin... all that kinda stuff. And apparently my parents assumed I was already having sex with Mike, so they didn't completely freak about that. They weren't thrilled, though, that I'd basically had a one-night-stand at 15 with a complete stranger. With my mom passed out on the couch, my dad rambled on and on about safety and protecting yourself and girls being taken advantage of. My father finally calmed down once I reminded him that Edward wanted to marry me, and that he was a much better choice than barely-graduated-from-high-school-mama's-boy Mike.

By the time we left for Rose's house, my mother was crying over not having time for a proper wedding before I left town with Edward, and my dad was crying over not being able to have some caramel apple cheesecake he'd heard about recently. Apparently, he thought it would be the perfect dessert for a wedding reception. Jasper and Alice had gone up to his bedroom with arms full of snacks from the kitchen cupboard, and I knew they'd most likely spend the rest of the night behind his locked door.

"So, we head out Monday morning. I'm not real sure how you wanna do this," Edward said as we slowly swung back and forth on the porch swing.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, my parents probably can't get here for a wedding. I mean, I could call them."

"You wanna get married now? Here?" I asked.

"Well, yeah. The sooner, the better. Are you okay with that?" he asked me, then softly kissed my head.

"Fuck yeah, I'm okay with it! Let's get us some rings tomorrow after your shift, and then we can get married Sunday."

He was so sweet, all dopey-looking as he watched me with big, curious green eyes. "You sure you wanna get married so fast? I remember you telling me before how girls get married too young and that you never wanted to be 'that girl'. That you wanted to get outta this town and have your own life."

"I think I just never took into consideration the fact that sometimes you meet the right person. The person for you. And when that happens, you gotta jump in with both feet. Right?"

His smile made my heart skip a beat and he nodded in agreement. "Right. So with that being said," he said as he shifted off the swing and dropped down to one knee in front of me and held my hand in his. "I love you, Bella Swan. I've loved you since that first night, four years ago, on the football field. Not a day's gone by that I haven't thought about you, wished for you, wanted you. I promise, if you'll let me I'll spend the rest of my life loving you and making you happy. Will you marry me?"

I felt like such a pansy, with the tears streaming down my face and the big cheesy grin. I tried to say yes but it just came choking out in a bubble of emotion and I grumbled as I nodded furiously at Edward.

"I take that as a yes?" he asked.

"Yeah," I finally managed to get out, just before I grabbed his face and pulled it to mine. His lips were so fucking soft and sweet as he kissed me, and I may have moved to straddle him right there on Rose's porch. He didn't stop me, so I knew he was into it, too. Especially with how hard he was kissing me and the fact that his hands seemed to have become attached to my ass.

"Ew, what are you doing?" I heard Emmett say from the door way. It sounded like he was chewing, which made me wonder where he'd gotten food because Rose's parents were still yelling inside the house.

"We're getting' married!" Edward squealed. _Squealed. _ My future husband squealed like a little girl at as Justin Beiber concert. The only reason I even knew about Justin Beiber was because the pre-teen girls that came into the ice cream shop talked non-stop about him. Apparently, he was the new Justin Timberlake. As if that was even possible. No one could out sing and dance that sexy man. Well, maybe Edward could, but I'd have to wait and see about that.

"Nice," Emmett said as he nodded at us and grinned.

I kissed Edward again and then let out a deep breath. "I gotta go home. I've got shopping to do tomorrow. Will you stay with me tonight?"

He smiled. "I'll always stay with you."

Luckily my parents were already asleep by the time we got back to my house. And sure enough Jasper and Alice were still locked in his bedroom. Laying next to Edward in my bed all night was incredible. I didn't even notice Jasper's headboard banging against the wall until Edward asked me what the knocking sound was. I was just relieved that Alice didn't get too vocal and Edward didn't hear her yelling for Jasper to spear her with his bayonet. I really needed to get Edward legally tied to me before he found out about all the insanity I was surrounded by.

Edward was a perfect gentleman all night, which both thrilled me and pissed me off. I loved the feel of his hands on my tits as he kissed me and pressed his hard cock against my hip, but when he turned me around and pulled my back to his chest, I thought something other than sleep was going to happen. At first I figured he was just taking a breather, resting for a few minutes, but then I heard him snoring and I knew the night's fun was over. It was probably for the best since I fell asleep pretty quickly after that.

The next morning I woke up to find my mother in the kitchen cooking breakfast. It wasn't like her and I wondered what was going on. It didn't take long for me to figure it out. As Edward came down the stairs, my father tried to sneak in the kitchen door, only to be caught by my mom.

"Charles Swan, where have you been at seven o'clock in the morning on a Saturday?" she asked.

I could see some kind of pastry crumbs in his mustache and the look of apple-glazed glee in his eyes. He licked one finger and then another before noticing my mother standing in the middle of the room.

"Oh, you're up."

"Yeah, and I'm ticked. I asked you a question. Where have you been?" Her hands rested on her hips and her shoulders were squared. She was mad. I actually couldn't remember ever seeing her that way before.

"Uh, well, I thought I'd go for a jog. You know, exercise," my dad said as he stared at the floor and nervously shifted from one foot to the other.

"Liar. What's that in your mustache?" She moved closer and looked, then sniffed. "Is that apple pie filling I smell? At seven a.m.? Where did you get apple pie this early in the morning?"

"Um... Ah, well..." he mumbled.

Just then I saw movement in the backyard. Mary Sue was standing in the yard holding something in her hands. My mother spotted her only moments after I did, and she practically flew to the back door.

"What's going on?" Edward quietly asked me.

"Nothing. Just my life," I said as I shook my head in shame. He was so gonna leave me after this all went down.

"What are you doing here?" I heard my mother asking Mary Sue.

"Oh, Charlie forgot the rest of his pie. I thought I'd bring it to him," I heard Mary Sue saying in her sweetest, sugary voice.

"Charlie's pie? What?" my mom asked, turning to look at my father who'd followed his nose to the backyard. Edward and I were right behind him, and I was a little surprised by the way Mary Sue was dressed. She seemed to have forgotten most of her clothes. At least that's what it looked like since it appeared that she was wearing an apron and nothing else.

"Charlie loves my pies. And my turnovers, and danishes, and crumb cakes, and fritters. Charlie can't stay away from my kitchen, can you, Honey?" she said as she looked at my dad, then winked and blew a kiss. His eyes were focused on the grass and he knew he'd been caught.

"Charlie, is this true?" my mom asked. If I didn't know better I'd have sworn she sounded hurt. It pretty much shocked the shit out of me.

"Well, baby... uh..."

"Charlie?"

"Renee, you know how much I love apple desserts."

My mom was silent and as we all stood there, I heard Jasper and Alice walk out of the house and stand behind me and Edward. "What's goin' on?" Jasper whispered to me.

"Shhhh," I said, still waiting to see how things were going to play out. I knew if it came down to it, my mom could take that Mary Sue bitch. My mom might have been just a make-up obsessed wanna-be, but she loved my dad, and love could give you power you never knew you were capable of. I already knew that from just the last day I'd spent with Edward.

"So you're sneakin' into Mary Sue's kitchen? How often is this happening?" my mother asked as she folded her arms across her chest and stared down my dad.

He was silent, and then Mary Sue jumped in. "Every day. He just can't stay away from what I can do for him. Isn't that right, Charlie? You can't get enough of my good stuff, huh, sweetie?"

"Sweetie? She calls you sweetie? Are you fucking kidding me? What else are you getting from this little tart, huh?" my mother yelled.

"Whoa, your mother just cursed," Alice whispered. Jasper just stood there with his mouth hanging open. Our mom must have really hit her limit now.

"Nothing! I swear! It's just her baking I want. I mean it, Renee. I swear that's all it is," my dad yelled back.

"Oh Renee, please. Don't tell me you didn't know something was going on. Charlie's a cop, for fuck's sake. He doesn't even like donuts, so how do you think he got so plump and delicious looking?" Mary Sue looked at my dad like he was something to eat, something she couldn't wait to lick and bite and devour. You know, like that old witch that fattened up Hansel and Gretel. "He told me you never bake anything sweet and juicy for him, so he had to come to me. I can give him what he needs, what he wants. I can fulfill all of his fantasies in the kitchen... and other places, too."

"You're married!" my mom shouted at Mary Sue. "Go home and bake for you husband and leave mine alone! He can't help it if he's weak, you little hussy!"

As my mom and Mary Sue continued to yell and call each other names, they got closer and closer to each other and I knew there was gonna be a fight. We all stood back and watched, shocked to see so much emotion coming from my mother, especially since there was nothing from Mary Kay involved in the situation. The final straw came when Harry yelled from his backyard that he was hungry and wanted Mary Sue to come home and fix his breakfast.

"See? You have a man. Go home and leave mine alone!" my mom said as she stood toe-to-toe, nose-to-nose with Mary Sue.

Mary Sue's arm twisted and before we knew what happened, my mom was covered in sticky, gooey apple pie. My father let out a gasp, probably at the thought of his favorite dessert being wasted. My mother let out a gasp, probably at the idea of her make-up and hair being ruined for the day. Edward let out a gasp, probably because he couldn't believe the live Jerry Springer show he was about to hitch himself to. And finally Mary Sue let out a gasp, probably because Alice had ran around all of us and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her back toward her own house.

"Go home, you little skanky wicked witch!" she screamed as she pulled a stumbling Mary Sue across two backyards before pushing her against her husband who was still standing in his yard waiting for his breakfast. It was as Alice pulled her home that I could finally see Mary Sue did in fact have some other clothes on. Though I wasn't sure if you could call a thong and strapless-push-up bra clothes. Clearly she didn't eat much of her own backing, 'cause the woman had a rockin' body. Well, rockin' for a forty year old, anyway. I only hoped for my mom's sake that my dad had always been too distracted by her baking to notice anything else about her.

"Charlie, how could you?" my mother asked in a shaky voice as she stood in the yard covered in apple pie.

"Baby, I thought you didn't care. I mean, you're always so busy with your Mary Kay stuff that I didn't think you even noticed me anymore."

I could see sadness in my mother's eyes, and it made me hurt for her. Edward took hold of my hand and lightly kissed my hair as we watched.

"I've always cared, Charlie. But I'm getting so old, and I don't look like I used to. I wanted to look better for you."

"Renee, I love you. You'll always be the most beautiful girl in the world to me. I'm just sorry I let myself go. All those sweets have really done a number on me. But you never said anything, so I thought you didn't care. How did you not know?" my dad asked.

"I buy so many groceries every week, and then they're always gone, so I thought you were eating all of them," my mother explained as she stepped closer to my dad.

My dad had a puzzled look on his face. "I never eat anything from the cupboard, only what you fix for me."

"Well, if you're not eating them, what's happening to them?" she asked. My parents turned and looked toward where the rest of us were standing.

"Don't look at me," I said.

"Oh, sorry," Jasper said as he pulled another cookie out of the bag he was holding. "Sometimes I just get so hungry, you know? Like, I'm all munchie and stuff. I just eat and eat and eat. I don't even know why either, 'cause I'm not hungry at all and then I hang out in my room for a while and bam! I'm starving! I can't help it. Maybe I have some kinda eating thing, you know? Maybe it's one of those tapeworms, you know 'cause people get those in like Africa and the jungle and stuff. Maybe that's what I got."

He was so clueless. Pot didn't kill brain cells, my foot.

"I swear I'll stay away from Mary Sue's kitchen," my dad said as he traced his finger along my mom's cheek, picking up some of the apple pie filling that was globbed there on her skin. He put it in his mouth and licked the sugary substance off. My mother moaned. _Moaned!_ It made me want to gag. Edward quietly laughed next to me.

"I should probably go clean up," my mom softly said.

"Yeah, we should get you cleaned up..." my dad said just before grabbing her hand and turning toward us. We all jumped out of their way as they rushed toward the door, hurrying into the house and up the stairs.

Alice giggled. "Your mom and dad are totally gonna do it!" she laughed as she jumped up and down, clapping her hands together. She looked like one of those toy monkeys with the symbols that bang together over and over again. "Old people are so cute when they get all horny. You're dad's gonna be in heaven today! Just imagine him licking that apple pie off your mom's-"

"No!" Jasper and I both yelled. "Stop!"

I grabbed Edward's hand and pulled him toward my truck. Thank heavens we were both already dressed and I had my keys in my pocket. Just before I turned over the engine I swore I heard from the open second-story window in my house, "Eat my sweet apple pie, baby!"

Ew. Just... no.

*** O * O * O ***

**A/N: One more. I hope soon. Like tomorrow. I hope. :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does. What I do own is an Edward **_**Twilight**_** poster. I used to have Jason Priestley posters on my wall when I was a teenager and in college. I had a Johnny Depp one, too, but Jason... oh, he was a total Edward back in the day. :)**

**Again, for **_**Artemis Leaena**_**. I suck, I know. But this story is gonna be longer than I'd originally thought. I'm wordy. It's like a disease. :) Hopefully that makes up for some of my suckiness. :D**

*** O * O * O ***

Saturday ended up being busy. Edward and Emmett worked the carnival all day while Rose and I worked at the ice cream shop, then hurried to the one dress store in town as soon as our shift was over. I found a cute little white lace eyelet dress with thick straps that went over my shoulders and a scalloped, knee-length hem. It was pretty and simple and perfect. And it would be very easy for Edward to get off of me in a hurry. And I was planning for him to do that. In the room I booked at Forks Lodge for Sunday night. The Honeymoon Suite wasn't available, but the Mary Kay Suite was. Hopefully Edward didn't mind pale pink everything. Luckily it came with champagne – pink champagne, of course. Rose and I bought a few bunches of flowers so that she could put together a little bouquet for me to carry and a boutonniere for Edward to wear. I didn't know if Edward had a suit or not, but I didn't care what he wore. I knew he'd look perfect no matter what.

He and Emmett ended up at my parent's house that night, helping me pack up my bedroom. There wasn't much time, especially with the wedding the next day, so I had to get it all done as fast as I could. Emmett and Rose were going to pack her room the next night since they wouldn't be locked away in a hotel room having hot and wild married sex like Edward and I would be doing.

I couldn't wait. I might have also bought something white and lacy and see-through, too. I really hoped Edward would love both my outfits for Sunday. Which brought me to another issue.

"Do you have condoms?" I asked as I rolled up my Justin Timberlake posters. I'd kissed each one before removing them from my walls, promising they'd only be rolled up in their dark tubes for a little while. I'd take them out soon, get them some air, spend some quality time with them. Edward laughed and I glared. This was Justin Fucking Timberlake! I loved him, though not as much as Edward. But still.

"Why are you asking about condoms?" Edward asked.

"Well, we need something for tomorrow night. I don't want a honeymoon baby. Do you?"

"You're not on the pill or shot or anything?"

"No. I haven't had sex since you," I told him.

"Really?" he quietly asked.

"No. I mean, I told you I did stuff, but I really never had sex. Didn't you believe me?"

He smiled. "I just figured you were telling me that to keep me from hunting down that Mike guy. You know the thing about if you ask a girl their sex partner number, you can pretty much multiply it by three and that's the real number. And if you ask a guy, you can divide it by three and that's the real number."

"So, what's your number?" I asked. I knew he said he'd always thought of me during the last four years, but that didn't mean he couldn't have still been banging other girls. And if he had been and any of them were still lurking around, I was gonna have to figure out a way to swipe my dad's pistol 'cause I needed to protect my man from psycho hotties that might think they still had a chance with him.

"My number is one. You. I couldn't ever go through with it with anyone else. I dated, I told you that, but sex just seemed wrong when it wasn't you there."

I might have swooned right there. Started melting into a puddle of gooey lust as I "awwww"ed at his words. And I probably would have jumped him if he hadn't been across the room from me.

"Can we stop talking about this?" Emmett grumbled. "You do realize Rose isn't here, right? And I'm not gonna have another chance at tapping that ass until tomorrow night, thanks to Packy-Miss-Packs-A-Lot over there."

"Oh please, you two had sex yesterday in Rose's car," I laughed as I threw a roll of socks at him. They were Hello Kitty socks. I wouldn't mind losing those, just as long as the Strawberry Shortcake ones made it to Chicago with me.

"Trust me, we've had sex a few more times since then," he said with a huge grin on his face.

"When? When have you had time?" Edward asked.

"When you want it, you find time. And I did... a lot."

Edward looked over at me. "I'll buy condoms tomorrow. Don't worry."

"Get the value pack." I smiled and winked at him. I planned to have a lot of hot, sweet, dirty, tender, sweaty, loving, amazing sex with him. We were gonna need all 36 that came in that giant box.

"Just to be safe, I'll get two boxes."

Oh, fuck yeah.

Waking up Sunday morning I had a thought in my head that I just couldn't get rid of.

Mike.

As much as I didn't want a future with him and wanted to forget about spending time with him, we'd actually had some fun together over the years. He was a good guy. Well, maybe not good, but a decent enough guy, anyway. He just wasn't the right guy for me. I knew he deserved more from me than finding out through the grapevine that I was married and Chicago-bound. I needed to tell him about Edward and break things off officially.

Alice was handling most of the wedding plans for me. My parents spent the majority of Saturday in their bedroom with the door locked, and by the time they'd emerged Saturday night they were both so giggly and love-struck that I knew they'd be no help when it came to wedding details. I couldn't blame them, though, since I was most likely going to be the same way Monday morning.

"Hey, I forgot to tell you yesterday but I talked to my parents about the wedding," Edward whispered into my ear as we lay on my bed, his arms wrapped around me. We'd spent our last night as single people together in my bed. No sex happened, even though hands may have wandered under clothing. And fingers might have pushed into parts of me... Parts that were still throbbing and needy and crying out for something bigger and thicker and smoother. Something that had been there once before and needed to be there again, soon.

I smiled as I lay with my head against his chest, tucked under his chin, and his nose pressed into my hair. "Oh yeah? What'd they say?"

"Well, they don't have enough frequent flyer miles or points on their credit card to afford two last minutes tickets to Seattle, but my dad talked to his boss who has a private plane. Well, the company does. Anyway, I guess they have something going on next week in Oregon and they were gonna be flying out today and after my dad told him about the wedding and how I'd been looking for you for four years, he offered to fly my parents to Port Angeles on his way to Portland. I booked them a hotel room for the next couple of nights. They're gonna stay until Tuesday, I think, and then they'll fly back with my dad's boss."

"Really?" I asked. I was happy for Edward, because I knew he wanted them there for the wedding, and I was excited to meet them. I only hoped his mother wasn't bringing any Avon products with her. Who knew what would happen to her if they searched her bags at the airport in Port Angeles.

"Yeah. And Emmett and I are only working half shifts today. We cashed in on some favors. Who says late night poker games never pay off."

"I can't wait to marry you," I told him, shifting in his arms and looking up at him. "You're so fuckin' pretty. Can we make babies tonight?"

Edward laughed. "No, not yet. What about not wanting a honeymoon baby?" My bottom lip jetted out in a pout, and he quickly ducked his head down to kiss it away. "Soon, though, I promise. I think we'll be ready for a few pairs of little feet running around us very soon."

He kissed me again, deep and strong, morning breath and all. I didn't care. I mean, I knew after a few months I'd get tired of morning breath kisses and be grossed out and all, but for the moment I just wanted his lips on some part of my body. The way he kissed me was so good. I'd never get tired of it.

"Oh, I have to talk to Mike today while you're at work," I told him once we pulled away from each other.

"What? Why?"

"Well, I never did actually break up with him. I just don't want there to be any bad feelings between us, or worse than there already will be. Even though I'm leaving, my parents aren't and I don't wanna cause trouble, you know?" I explained. I looked up into his worried eyes.

"Don't leave me, okay? Don't change your mind about us. I couldn't take it if you did. I'd fight, Bella. Hard."

"Really? You'd fight for me?"

"Damn it, Bella. Yes. And I wouldn't fight fair, either. If I have to play dirty to win you, I will," he said, his eyes sparkling with some emotion that looked like jealousy or possessiveness or need. I liked it. He was so hot like that.

"Don't worry. I'm yours, cowboy. I'm riding off into the sunset with you."

"Damn straight you are," he said with a smile and a twangy Texan accent, then smacked my ass and told me to get out of bed 'cause we had us some hitchin' to do.

Note to self – buy Edward a cowboy hat. And some chaps. Oh yeah... and maybe a whip.

As I drove Edward toward the carnival, I was a little surprised to see Mike's car parked on the side of the road a few streets over from my house. I'd seen it a couple nights before, but then it was gone the next day. I slowed down to look closer at it, to make sure it was his. As I did, I saw from the corner of my eye a door open up and two people step out. My foot slammed on the brakes, nearly sending Edward's head into the windshield. I needed to be more careful. I didn't want him all bloodied and bruised for our wedding pictures. I was gonna show those to my grandkids someday, when they didn't believe what a looker their grandpa had been.

Tanya, the town skank, stood in the doorway wrapped in nothing but a cream colored, very short, very sheer robe, with nothing but boobies and a hoo-haw underneath. I knew that because I could see them through the fabric clear from my car. Her hair was a mess and she was clinging to a man, kissing him with all her might as she wrapped a leg around his waist and gave any fortunate – or maybe unfortunate – neighbors a show featuring all her lady bits.

"Whoa," Edward whispered once he saw what I was seeing.

The man pulled away and turned around, adjusting himself as she grabbed at his ass when he started to walk away.

"No fucking way," I said quietly, then put the truck into park before opening my door and climbing out.

"Bella, where are you going? We're parked in the middle of the street. Bella," Edward called, but I was a woman on a mission. Nothing was gonna stop me now. Focused on my target, I walked fast and forcefully until I reached him. My fist slammed into his jaw and sent him flying backward.

"Michael Newton!" I yelled. "What do you think you're doing?" I shook my hand 'cause it hurt like a motherfucker. At least it wasn't my ring-wearing hand. Shit! We still needed wedding rings. Eh, I'd have to think about that later, after I'd taken care of my cheating-ex-boyfriend.

His eyes were huge, so clearly he was surprised to see me. "Ugh, well, um..."

"Mikey! Oh, baby!" Tanya yelled as she hurried down her sidewalk in her little robe and white feathery kitten heels.

"Did you fuck her?" I yelled at him as he sat on his ass rubbing his jaw.

"Bella?" Edward yelled from behind me.

"Mikey!" Tanya yelled as she knelt down next to him and pulled his face against her tits.

"Well?" I asked.

Mike looked up at me. "Yeah, okay? Fuck, Bella. You weren't givin' it up. I had to get it from somewhere. And Tanya's good. So yeah, I've been fuckin' her for a long time. Where do you think I learned all that stuff to do to your pussy with my tongue?"

"You did what with your tongue?" Edward seethed from behind me, stalking toward Mike.

"Oh shit, nothing!" I said, trying to hold him back, but it was useless.

"Who the hell are you?" Mike asked as he stood up and tried to save a little face in front of his hoochie-mama girlfriend. And I didn't mean me, his very recently ex-girlfriend. I might have been a bit of a hoochie sometimes, but I was no where near a full blown hoochie-mama like Tanya was.

"I'm Bella's fiance. I'll be her husband by the end of the day."

"Bullshit!" Mike yelled. He was several inches shorter than Edward, and at least 30 or 40 pounds lighter, but he wasn't backing down. He probably should have, and maybe I would have suggested it except that I noticed Tanya licking her lips and watching my man. My Edward. Her hand moved to her chest, opening her robe a little bit to expose her cleavage. Not that she needed to. All her goods were already on display.

"No, it's true. Edward and me are getting married. Today. He's the one, the one I've been waiting for. The reason I couldn't and wouldn't put out for you," I told Mike. "I met him four years ago and I've never been able to forget him. And now he's back and we're getting' married and leavin' town. We're getting' out of here."

"You little slut," Mike said as he looked at me. "You fucked this guy but you wouldn't fuck me? I don't know why I wasted so much time on-"

Edward's fist connected with Mike's jaw, and then his nose, and then his stomach. It actually slammed into his stomach a few times. Eventually Mike doubled over in pain and fell back onto the ground.

"Oh, you're so strong," Tanya cooed as she approached Edward.

"Back off, hussy," he said before turning toward me and taking hold of my hand. "You don't talk to my wife that way, you hear me? You don't deserve someone like Bella," he yelled down at Mike. "Have fun with your little harlot here! You asshole!"

Edward pulled me back toward the truck, but I turned around once more to face Mike and Tanya.

"I never loved you. I never wanted you. It was always him. Always. And tell your mom I hope her next Mary Kay shipment has tainted, mildewed lipstick in it!"

Edward helped me into the driver's side door, then slid in next to me and drove us away. When we reached the carnival, we sat in the parked truck for a few minutes. I could tell he wanted to say something to me, and I really hoped it wasn't that he'd changed his mind. As if things hadn't been crazy enough already, Mike and Tanya had really pushed things farther than I'd ever thought they could go. Edward turned to face me, reaching his hand up to my cheek as his thumb wiped away the tear that was spilling from my eye.

"I love you, Bella. Always. In a few hours I'm gonna show you how much."

He kissed me, soft and sweet, with a little tongue. A tasteful amount of tongue. Church tongue, really. You know, the kind Adam Sandler gave Drew Barrymore in that "Wedding Singer" movie.

"I'll see you at the altar," he whispered before placing another kiss on my lips and then climbing out of my truck.

I loved him. Hard.

*** O * O * O ***

**A/N: I lied before. This isn't the last chapter. There's another one, maybe two. We'll see how wordy I keep being... :D And if you like visuals as much as I do, pictures of the dress and lacy thing are on Facebook. The dress is in my photos (I'll add it to the FB Page, too) and the lacy thing is in the group. It's a little... risque. :D Pretty, but you know, it has a purpose and it works for that. I'm sure Edward's gonna love it. :D  
**


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